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SAINT TAMMANY AND THE ORIGIN 

OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

OR COLUMBIAN ORDER IN 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



BY 

EDWIN P. KILROE 



NEW YORK 
1913 



SAINT TAMMANY AND THE ORIGIN 

OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

OR COLUMBIAN ORDER IN 

THE CITY OF NEW YORK 



BY 

EDWIN PATRICK KILROE 



SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT 
OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE 
DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY 
IN THE FACULTY OF POLITICAL 
SCIENCE, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 



NEW YORK 
1913 



3" \< a "Sis 



COPYRIGH' 


r, 1913 


BY 




EDWIN P. 


KILROE 


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PREFACE 

The following treatise is the result of a study under- 
taken under the direction of the School of Political Science, 
Columbia University. Its original purpose was the prepara- 
tion of a monograph on the political significance of Tam- 
many Hall. A brief investigation, however, of the pub- 
lished works on the subject revealed the fact that no authen- 
tic exhaustive work had been written or even attempted, 
including the whole or any considerable part of the field. It 
became apparent that the subject invited a complete investi- 
gation to reveal the true scope of the movement of the early 
Tammany Societies, the legendary of Saint Tammany, and 
the origin and development of the Society of Tammany in 
the City of New York, as the basis for the' proper under- 
standing of the growth and influence of the institution and 
the evolution of the Democratic " machine " in New York 
County. Such a work has been undertaken and the follow- 
ing chapters are the beginnings of the complete history that 
is planned. 

In the search for original sources of information, the 
writer found himself in a maze of pertinent and interesting 
but wholly uncollated data, revealing the necessity for a 
comprehensive bibliography as a guide to the inquiry. Dur- 
ing its preparation the miscellaneous information which is 
presented in the form of an appendix to this dissertation 
was secured. The appendix includes a list of orations de- 
livered before Tammany Societies in the United States, with 
contemporary criticisms wherever found; and it may not 
be amiss to add that the orations reflect the attitude of the 
societies upon the social, political and economic problems 

3 



4 PREFACE 

and conditions of their times — an indispensable source of 
information to the investigator of the movement. 

The facts and traditions concerning Saint Tammany, 
which are here collected for the first time, possess more 
than an antiquarian interest, for they disclose the character 
of the fetich to which the movement of the Tammany So- 
cieties was dedicated. No pains, therefore, have been spared 
in presenting the topic. 

The amount of information uncovered respecting the 
several epochs of the history of the Tammany Society of 
New York City varies greatly. From 1789 to 1800, the 
important activities are adequately chronicled in contem- 
porary newspapers, and much documentary information is 
accessible. During the period from 1800 to 1812 the major 
functions are briefly treated in the news columns, but the 
sources are not so abundant as in the preceding decade. 
A mere outline of the workings of the Society from 1812 
to 1825 is provided by the press, and an occasional broad- 
side or pamphlet issued by the Society, or published by 
its political opponents, furnishes additional sidelights on 
the activities of the period. There is a paucity of informa- 
tion covering the period between 1825 and 1850, broken 
only by an occasional pamphlet and the passing comment 
of general works. The daily newspapers of New York City, 
numerous magazines and periodicals, together with official 
publications by the Society in the form of broadsides, 
pamphlets, communications and accounts of its proceedings, 
furnish abundant material for its history during the latter 
half of the nineteenth century. 

In discussing the development of the early Tammany 
Societies, the article by Francis Von Cabeen, on The So- 
ciety of the Sons of Saint Tammany of Philadelphia, pub- 
lished in the Pennsylvania Magazine of History and Biog- 
raphy in 1902, was of great assistance. The references 



PREFACE 5 

pointed out by Mr. Cabeen were of especial value in de- 
scribing the part played in the movement by the Philadelphia 
Society. 

The author takes pleasure in acknowledging the assist- 
ance rendered to him by Mr. Albert Matthews, lexicog- 
rapher and historical investigator, of Boston, Massachusetts, 
by furnishing references to invaluable sources. The splen- 
did facilities of the New York Historical Society, New 
York Public, New York Society, American Antiquarian, 
Brown University, and Columbia University Libraries, 
and the Library of Congress, made accessible vast store- 
houses of information, and the courtesy of their respective 
librarians is gratefully remembered. Professor Charles A. 
Beard, of Columbia University, under whose personal su- 
pervision this study was commenced, has been unstinting 
in his suggestions and encouragement. To Professor E. 
M. Sait, of Columbia University, the writer is indebted for 
helpful, scholarly criticism. Mr. William A. Hildebrand, 
formerly assistant librarian at the New York Historical 
Society, has materially aided in verifying references. The 
author is especially grateful to Dr. Austin Baxter Keep, 
of the College of the City of New York, who has read 
manuscript and proof throughout and whose experience in 
historical investigation has provided a never failing source 
of assistance and sympathetic interest. Louis E. Swarts, 
Esq., of the New York Bar, has aided in the revision and 
arrangement of the work in the same cordial spirit of 
cooperation that has characterized his professional relations 
with the writer during the past seven years. 

E. P. K. 

Columbia University, New York, May 1, 1913. 



CONTENTS 



PAG1 

Introduction 11 

CHAPTER I 
Saint Tammany 

1. Tamenend: Hiawatha and Tammany in history and literature; 

authentic history of Tammany — land grants to William Penn; 
relations with the early settlers 15 

2. Traditions of Saint Tammany: Residence, death, place of burial; 

successors; Motto; Tammany and the Walam Olum 21 

3. Canonization: Correspondence of Dr. Belknap and Hazard; ex- 

planations of the anomaly; errors of early commentators; John 
Leacock and his poem on Saint Tammany; Chief Tammany, 
patron of a Fishing Club; patron of the Province of Pennsyl- 
vania and of the Continental Army; poems to Saint Tammany 29 

4. Sources of Legendary: Oration by Mitchill and reports of early 

missionaries; comments by Heckewelder; Mitchill's letter; 
errors of Heckewelder; influence of the Iroquois; legends of 

Tammany confused with those of Hiawatha 46 

Notes to Chapter I. The Delaware Indians; the Iroquois; Tammany 
as a proper name; Col. Morgan and the name Tamanend; Teedy- 
uscung; Poem — " Song for St. Tammany's Day"; The Prophet; 
Iroquois traditions relating to Tammany 53 

CHAPTER II 

The Movement of the Tammany Societies in the United States 

Prior to 1789 

Celebration of May 1st as St. Tammany's Day; custom inaugurated 
by Fishing Clubs near Philadelphia; early celebrations; Sons of 
King Tammany at Philadelphia — toasts; activities at Philadel- 
phia — toasts; officers; the movement outside of Philadelphia: 
celebrations at Norfolk, Harrisburg, Petersburg and Richmond, 
Va. — toasts; in New Jersey — constitution; in Georgia — cele- 
brations at Savannah — toasts; in the Carolinas — celebration at 
Wilmington, N. C. — toasts; character of the celebrations in the 

7 



8 CONTENTS 

PAGE 

South; the Tammany Societies and the Sons of Liberty; Celtic 
influence on the movement in the South; end of the first phase 

of the movement 84 

Notes to Chapter II. Poem — "Prophecy of King Tammany"; Law 
of Liberty of the Tammany Societies; Sons of Liberty and the 
Liberty Pole; St. Tammany's Day unknown in New England. . Ill 

CHAPTER III 

The Origin of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in 
the City of New York 

1. The Founding: Statement by Bryce; conditions in New York from 

1783-1789; notices of the Society; early celebrations — toasts; 
meetings in 1789 — reorganization — Public Constitution 117 

2. Objects: William Mooney's activities; John Pintard and his in- 

fluence on the Society — correspondence; The Society and the Cin- 
cinnati; the anti-Catholic sentiment; patrons; the Bucktail; 

evolution of the present name 130 - 

Notes to Chapter III. Pintard; the Tammanial laws; William Mooney; 
the Oneida Indians; William Maclay; toasts of the Tammany 
Society and the Cincinnati; anti-Catholic sentiment in the Phila- 
delphia and Washington Tammany Societies; toasts to the 
patrons 150 

CHAPTER IV 
Early Activities of the Society 

1. Reception to the Indians: The Oneida Chiefs; conciliation of the 

Creeks; the Ottoway Chiefs 167 

2. The Tammany Museum: Establishment; room in City Hall; by- 

laws and regulations; Broadside June 1, 1791; transfer to Baker; 
later history 173 

3. Promotion of Holidays: May 12 — ostentatious pageantry, banquets; 

July 4th celebrations — reading the Declaration of Independence; 
abandonment of Indian ceremonial; Evacuation Day; celebra- 
tions in honor of Columbus 177 

4. Patriotic zeal and civic interest: Mourning; work on the harbor 

fortifications — Governor's Island and Brooklyn 186 

5. The Wigwam: Various locations; Tammanial Tontine Associa- 

tion; first Tammany Hall; present hall 189 

6. The drift toward politics: Sympathy for the French Revolution — 

celebrations; the Tammany Society and the Democratic Society; 
Mrs. Hatton and the opera "Tammany"; Washington's attack 
on self-created societies; the split in the Tammany Society; 
alignment with the Anti-Federalists 192 



CONTENTS 9 

PAGE 

Notes to Chapter IV. Col. M'Gillivray; Georgia and the Creek 
treaty; criticisms of the early anniversaries; the Columbus 
Monument; address by the Society; excerpt from Washington's 
message 199 

APPENDIX 

Tammany Societies in the United States 209 

Orations before New York Tammany Society, with criticisms 214 

Orations before the Tammany Societies in the United States 241 



ABBREVIATIONS USED 

B. U. — Brown University Library. 
L. C. — Library of Congress. 
N. p., n. d. — No place or date of publication. 
N. Y. H. S— New York Historical Society. 
N. Y. P. L.— New York Public Library. 
* — Indicates earliest date found, 
f — Indicates that the oration has not been found. 

Figures 2/1 — Indicate page and column of newspapers as, the Diary 
May 19, 2/1, 1794, means May 19, page two, firBt column. 



INTRODUCTION 

The Tammany Societies in the United States exercised a 
powerful influence in shaping the destinies and in crystal- 
lizing the principles of our government, and have contrib- 
uted much to the development of our present extra-consti- 
tutional system of party government. The importance of 
this influence has been inadequately recognized by students 
of American history. The societies bore the standards of 
equal rights and popular rule like the powerful Jacobin 
clubs of the French Revolution, and were the rallying points 
of Republican activity until the complete annihilation of the 
Federalist party. Under the favoring leadership of Thomas 
Jefferson and James Madison the movement flourished, and 
in its organized activities foreshadowed the establishment 
of national political machines. With the passing of the 
Federalists the issues which had stimulated the movement 
disappeared, and one by one the societies succumbed to the 
lethargy resulting from the cessation of violent partisan 
controversy. The New York Tammany Society alone 
remained, presenting the most curious phenomenon in the 
history of American politics in its development from a 
patriotic and fraternal institution to an organized force or 
machine in party politics; in which position, for three- 
quarters of a century, it dominated the public life of the 
American metropolis. 

Originally a society of purely social and patriotic motives, 
the organization was transformed into an agency for the 
assertion and maintenance of Republican principles; and, 
under the corrupting influence of partisan greed, degene- 
rated at times into an oppressive vehicle for the acquisition 

11 



12 INTRODUCTION 

of political spoils. Following the disclosures of the iniqui- 
tous Tweed Ring in 1871, the Society slowly relinquished 
its hold upon the party machinery, and the evolution of 
state election laws regulating party control completed the 
separation. Thus by a singular metamorphosis, the Society, 
which for so many years had been absolute dictator of 
Democratic politics in New York City, the arbiter of party 
regularity, and the distributor of public patronage, was 
wholly divorced from its partisan control and partially reha- 
bilitated in its original character as a fraternal and patriotic 
body. 

The building known as Tammany Hall is owned and con- 
trolled by the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order 
in the City of New York. The term " Tammany Hall," 
however, in popular significance is used to designate the 
dominant faction of the Democratic party of the County of 
New York. This designation arises from the fact that the 
assembly room of the Society, ever since the construction of 
the first Tammany Hall in 1811, has been the meeting place 
of the controlling committees of the Democratic party. In a 
similar manner the dominant faction of the local Democracy 
prior to 1811 acquired the names of" Martling party " and 
" Tammanial party," because it met in the Society's wig- 
wam at Martling's Long Room; and, in the struggle with 
De Witt Clinton for supremacy within the party, the faction 
led by the Society was called " Bucktails," after the well- 
known Tammanial emblem. 

The political organization known as " Tammany Hall " 
and the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in the 
City of New York are, therefore, separate and distinct 
entities, — the former a body created by statute, a legalized 
functionary of party government; the latter the shell of an 
ancient and honorable patriotic organization. The Society 
and the " Machine," however, so far interlock that it is 



INTRODUCTION 13 

customary for leaders of the party to be officers of the So- 
ciety. Thus the Society is to-day dominated by the political 
institution which it created and long controlled. 

The Society no longer occupies a position of leadership 
in the celebration of public holidays, so many of which it 
originated, and to the establishment of which it contributed 
so prominent a part. The modern Tammany Society, 
divested of the political machinations which deprived it 
of its estimable non-partisan character, is entitled by virtue 
of its ancient traditions and historic public service to become 
again a leader in the patriotic ceremonial of the City of 
New York. For this office its membership and plan of 
organization render it peculiarly fit, and it is the hope of 
its votaries that this function may again be delegated to 
the Society. 

The Tammany Society has survived over a century and 
a quarter of storm and stress, during which it has exerted 
a portentous influence upon the life of the American Com- 
monwealth. Its principles have been deprecated and its 
motives assailed on the one hand, and, on the other, its 
glories celebrated and its virtues enlarged by interested 
partisans. With the prejudice born of opposition, detractors 
have arisen without its ranks, while its eulogists have taken 
inspiration from their own devotion to the Order. Unhap- 
pily, those whose dispassionate estimation has been fur- 
nished to us, with spectatorial indifference, have failed to 
fathom its anomalies or to search out the hidden funds of 
information from which alone could accuracy arise. The 
subject is worthy of a better fate. The history of no other 
isolated institution is so fraught with epoch-making prece- 
dent, nor presents a more useful illustration of the work- 
ing out of our republican forms, — revealing at once the 
spreading ulcers of corruption and the healthy growth of 
the sinews of true democracy. 



14 INTRODUCTION 

The Order has participated in numberless movements of 
social, political and civic import; every epoch, every year, 
has seen its affirmative acts; and its position has been writ 
large in infinite bitter controversy. That the record of 
its achievements and of its activities, both social and per- 
nicious, should form the basis for an impartial judgment 
of its worth, is the postulate from which a compendious 
history of the Society should proceed. A study of its fore- 
runners, the ideals to which it aspired, the causes and scope 
of its organization, together with a description of the early 
activities of the Society, are the purposes of the present 
work. 



CHAPTER I 

Saint Tammany 
1. Tamenend 

The American Indian or "Amerind " x has enriched 
our history and our literature with two heroic characters, 
Hiawatha, 2 a chief of the Onondagas, and Tammany, a 
sachem of the Delawares. 3 Hiawatha conceived and 
founded the great Iroquois Confederacy, 4 America's first 
Republic, a potent influence for the promotion of peace and 
amity among the Indian nations. Notwithstanding the 
errors of historians and distortions of poets, our history and 
literature have accorded undying fame to this great law- 
giver and reformer of an aboriginal race. The name of 
Tammany is preserved in history by a series of blunders, 
while in literature as the patron saint of our country his 
fame is perpetuated by numerous legends, odes and poems. 
He is also honored as the patron and guiding spirit of a 
patriotic and fraternal movement that gave rise to a society 
which in turn has developed into a powerful and astounding 
political machine. Both characters are depicted as the incar- 
nation of nobility, sagacity and power, and crowned with 
magnetic charm, personifying those essential attributes 
always bestowed by an indulgent posterity when a great 
historic figure is molded. 

Tammany, the tutelary saint of America, as a character 
stands unique. Much has been written concerning his virtue, 
prowess and achievements; and about his memory a kind 
and bounteous tradition has woven numberless romances 
which rival the tales of Heracles and Theseus, and give 

15 



16 SAINT TAMMANY 

him a place in the Indian lore of America analogous to that 
held by those demi-gods in ancient Greek mythology. This 
Nestor 5 of the American Indians, whom tradition is 
pleased to describe as the embodiment of wisdom and honor, 
and whose ability, benevolence, nobility and diplomatic 
savoir faire brought to him immortal renown, was a sachem 
of the Lenni-Lenape or Delaware Indians.^ His origin, his 
achievements and his death are shrouded in obscurity, while 
only a short period of his life is actually open to the scru- 
tiny of research. For fifteen years he was in contact with 
the whites, but during that period he did not appear as a 
chief of extraordinary accomplishments or importance; nor 
does he seem to have made a profound impression on the 
white settlers, for there is no record that they were awed 
by the force of his genius or charmed by his personality. 

The authentic history of Tammany 6 is short and simple, 
and the events recorded are neither startling nor impress- 
ive. His name was first presented in writing, to the 
civilized world, on June 23, 1683, when he affixed his mark 
to a deed of that date, granting to William Penn, Proprietor, 
" all my Lands Lying betwixt Pemmapecka and Nessami- 
nehs Creeks, and all along Nesheminehs Creeks . . . for 
y e Consideration of so much Wampum, so many Guns, 
Shoes, Stockings, Looking-glasses, Blanketts and other 
goods as he, y e s d William Penn shall please to give unto 
me." r On that same day Tammany and Metamequan exe- 
cuted a joint deed and affixed their respective marks thereto, 
granting to William Penn the identical lands that Tammany 
had conveyed in the previous deed ; and at the same time ex- 
ecuted a receipt for the consideration received, with which 
" we doe hereby hold ourselves fully contented and satis- 
fyed." On June 25, 1683, the name of Tammany ap- 
pears with four other Indian names in witness to a deed 
given by Wingebone to William Penn for " Lands Lying 



TAMENEND 17 

on y e West side of y e Skolkill River begining from y e first 
Falls of y e same all along upon y e s d River and Backward 
of y e same, so farr as my right goeth." 9 His name is 
again presented for our consideration in a letter written by 
William Penn to the Society of Traders on August 16, 
1683. 10 In speaking of the Lenape or Delaware Indians, 
Penn only casually mentions the name of Tammany; his 
remarks are : " Their language is lofty yet narrow : . . . I 
must say that I know not a language spoken in Europe, 
that hath words of more sweetness, in accent or emphasis, 
than theirs; for instance, Tamene, Secane, Menase, Secate- 
rius, are the names of persons." 

On June 15, 1692, the name, with those of three other 
Indians, appears on a quit-claim deed. 11 By this instru- 
ment they acknowledged " full Satisfaction for all that 
Tract of Land formerly belonging to Taminent and others, 
which wee parted with unto William Penn, Proprietor. . . . 
Therefore wee Doo hereby acquitt, release & discharg the 
said Proprietor his Heirs & Success rs from any further 
claims, dues & demands whatsoever, Concerning the said 
Lands or any other Tract of Land claimed by us from the 
beginning of the World to the day of the date hereof." 
This sweeping conveyance in legal effect wiped out all of 
Tammany's land claims in Pennsylvania. In this transac- 
tion, at least, his native shrewdness does not show to any 
great advantage, for the white representatives of the Pro- 
prietor clearly out-traded him and drove a good bargain. 

The name of Tammany next appears in the minutes of a 
meeting of the Pennsylvania Provincial Council, held in 
Philadelphia on July 6, 1694. The purpose of the Coun- 
cil was to confer with the Delaware Indians concerning a 
proposition made by the Seneca Nation, to have the Dela- 
wares join the Senecas in a war against the French. The 
minutes of this meeting contain the only record of a speech 



18 .v. ;/.\T TAMMANY 

made by Tammany that may be considered authentic. Dur- 
ing the conference Tammany spoke of the whites as follows : 
" Wee and the Christians of this River Have allwayes had 
a free rode way to one another, & tho' sometimes a tree 
has fallen across the rode yet wee have still removed it again 
& kept the path clean, and wee design to Continou the old 
friendshipp that has been between us and you." The coun- 
cil assured the Indians that the English were their friends 
and would protect them from both the French and the Sen- 
ecas. " So they all departed verie well satisfied with the 
Lt. Governor's answer." 12 In this conference Tammany 
played no important part, the real leader being Hithquo- 
quean, who " in name of the rest of the Delaware Indians 
took outt and laid down a Belt of Wampum " and acted as 
spokesman for the tribe. 

Again, the names of Tammany and four members of his 
household — his two sons, his brother and the heir-apparent 
to the chief tancy of the Delaware Nation — appear in a deed 
dated July 6, 1697, 13 of which the following excerpt is 
pertinent : 

We Taminy Sachimack and Weheeland my Brother and 
Weheequeckhon, alias Andrew, who is to be King after my 
death, Yaqueekhon alias Nicholas, and Quenameckquid, Alias 
Charles, my Sonns, for the Consideration of Twenty Match- 
coats, Twelve White Blankets, Ten Kettles, Twelve Guns, 
Thirty Yards of Shirting Cloth, one Runlett of Powder, Ten 
Barrs of Lead, fforty yards of Stroud Waters, Twenty Parrs 
of Stockins, one Horse, ffifty pounds of Tobacco, Six Dozens 
of Pipes and Thirty Shillings in Cash . . . Do give, grant, 
alien, sell, enfeoff and confirm unto the said William Penn, 
his Heirs and Assigns, All the Lands, Woods, Meadows, Riv- 
ers, Rivulets, Mines, Minerals, and Royalties Whatsoever, sit- 
uated lyeing and being Between the Creek called Pemopeck and 
the Creek called Neshaminy, in the said Province Extending in 
Length from the River Delaware, so farr as a horse can Travel 



TAMENEND 19 

in Two Summer dayes, and to carry its breadth accordingly 
as the several Courses of the said two Creeks will Admit, And 
when the said Creek do so branch that the main Branches or 
bodies thereof cannot be discovered, Then the Tract of Land 
hereby granted, shall stretch forth upon a direct course on each 
side and so carry on the flul Breadth to the extent of the 
Length thereof. 

In the first deed from the Delaware Indians to William 
Penn, dated July 15, 1682, the conveyance was made by the 
44 said Indyan sachamackers, parties to these presents, as 
well for and on behalfe of themselves as for and on the 
behalf e of their Respective Indyans or People for whom 
they are concerned." 14 This clause would seem to give 
color to the position taken by Morgan, in his "Ancient So- 
ciety," ' that Indian lands were occupied by the tribe 
in common. The system of land tenure among the Dela- 
wares and the powers and duties of the head of the Nation 
are not clearly defined by writers and investigators of Indian 
customs, and the deeds signed by Tammany throw but little 
light on the question. For in the transfer of lands to Wil- 
liam Penn there is no clear evidence of a tribal supervision, 
nor is there anything to show that the lands were held in 
trust by the sachem for the use and benefit of the tribes- 
men. It was not customary for a sachem, however high his 
rank, to attend any land conferences that did not affect his 
private possessions. To the first and to many other deeds 
to William Penn the name of Tammany was not affixed, 
which leads us to infer that he concerned himself only with 
his own patrimony; and, inasmuch as he joined with other 
sachems in transferring land, his power over the land was 
no greater than theirs. Thus it would seem that land tenure 
among the Delawares, in so far as it was defined at all, was 
one of private ownership. 

We find the name of Tammany in print in 1698,. in an 



20 SAINT TAMMANY 

article by Gabriel Thomas, who arrived in America shortly 
after the landing of William Penn and spent some fifteen 
years among the early settlers. On his return to London 
he published an interesting account of his experiences in 
America, but his sole allusion to Tammany is found as 
follows in a discussion of the Delaware Indians: 10 'The 
names of some of the Indians — Anaehkoating, Bussabena- 
ting, O'Konycan, Potasko, Quindasnon, Lames, Alpoogan, 
Kohonk, Hiton, Tem-eny." 

This brief record of Tammany's dealings with the English 
settlers completes his authentic biography. It discloses 
merely a series of business transactions, in each of which 
the Chief was outwitted and outbargained by the business 
tact and shrewdness of his white neighbors. With the mere 
reference to his name by Thomas in 1698, the Chief passes 
from history, and no more is heard of him until 1771, when 
he is introduced to us in the guise of a Saint, with the first 
of May set aside as the day sacred to his name. How this 
remarkable transformation took place, and why Tammany, 
who appears as a chief of only ordinary attainments, was 
selected for popular canonization, are questions yet to be 
answered by the student of American history. Everything 
written about him subsequent to 1698 is based on conjec- 
ture, romance and untrustworthy tradition. 

There are no portraits of Tammany in existence 1T and 
only two writers have transmitted descriptions of his per- 
sonal appearance. One, ascribed to William Penn, thus de- 
picts the Chief : " He found him an old man, but yet vigor- 
ous in mind and body, with high notions of liberty, easily 
won by the suavity and peaceful address of the Governor." 18 
The other is by James Fenimore Cooper, who gives what 
purports to be a full description of Tammany and reveals 
him presiding over a Council of the Dela wares in the neigh- 
borhood of Lake George, New York, in the year 1757. 19 



TRADITIONS OF SAINT TAMMANY 21 

The description is based on legends and traditions current 
in 1825, when Cooper wrote, and in reality is but an imper- 
sonal idealization of an Indian chief. 

2. Traditions of Saint Tammany. 

Tradition states that Tammany was the first to welcome 
Penn on his arrival in America, on October 27, 1682, and 
that he was present, in June, 1683, at the Great Treaty under 
the Elm at Schakamaxon; history, however, has left no 
record of the individuals present on these two occasions. The 
Indians in attendance at the Treaty were the entire tribe of 
the Susquehannocks and the Unami and Unalachtigo clans 
of the Delawares. 20 The object of the meeting was to 
confirm the land grants previously made to William Penn, 
and to negotiate a treaty of friendship, " to last as long as 
the sun should shine and the waters run into the rivers." 21 
Tammany, it must be remembered, up to this time had made 
no conveyances to Penn; so his presence was not essential 
to confirm the land grants. 22 

The residence of Tammany has been assigned to various 
places. Richard C. Adams 23 fixes it at the present site 
of Wilmington, Delaware; another writer locates him in 
1683 at Perkasie. 24 Others place his wigwam at the 
present site of Princeton University, 25 an error arising 
from the fact that there was situated the home of Col. 
George Morgan, 26 upon whom it is said the western 
Delawares conferred the sobriquet " Tamanend." Tamma- 
ny's residence has also been fixed at the present site of 
Easton, at that of Scranton, and at the Delaware Water 
Gap, all in the state of Pennsylvania, likewise in the upper 
Ohio Valley 27 and in northern New York. 19 The most 
persistent tradition of his residence, however, is that he 
once settled on the upper Delaware, near the present vil- 
lage of Cochecton, on the Pennsylvania side of the river, 



22 SAINT TAMMANY 

on the fertile bottom lands in what is now Damascus town- 
ship. In 1775 Joseph Skinner and his eight sons settled 
at a place called Acklake, now Milanville, Wayne County, 
Penna,, opposite the present town of Cochecton, New York. 
David Skinner, the eldest son, succeeded his father in the 
ownership of the family farm, which he called St. Tamma- 
ny's Flats. 28 Just when this appellation was bestowed 
on the locality we are not informed, but that it was later 
than 1772 seems certain, for the canonization of Tammany 
was not generally recognized until after that date. Daniel 
Skinner, or " The Admiral/' as he was familiarly called, 
floated rafts from Cochecton to Philadelphia, and on these 
trips heard of, and perhaps attended, the celebrations which 
took place in the latter place between 1772 and 1790, on the 
first day of May. Thus he became acquainted with the 
name of St. Tammany, learned its significance, and, fasci- 
nated by the legends and ceremonies, applied it to his own 
plantation. 29 This alone gave color to the story that 
Tammany lived at Damascus, on the flats that bear his name, 
for there is no authentic information to indicate that he 
even visited that section of Wayne County. His authentic 
residence, however, has been located on the lower Delaware 
and along the fertile banks of the Neshaminy river in Bucks 
County, Pennsylvania, on the lands which between 1683 and 
1697 he conveyed to William Penn. 30 

Three places, widely separated, claim the grave S1 of 
Tammany. The view has been advanced that he was buried 
on the spot where now stands Nassau Hall at Princeton, 
New Jersey ; but, like the tradition of his residence there, 
this view may be dismissed by recalling the fact that Colonel 
Morgan, known as " Tamanend," lived and died at Prospect, 
the present site of Princeton. For the story that Tammany 
was buried at Muskingum, Ohio, and a huge mound erected 
over his grave, no* confirmation whatever can be found. In 



TRADITIONS OF SAINT TAMMANY X 

fact, the tale originated with an orator 82 who afterward 
admitted that it was pure fiction, but its adoption by certain 
serious, albeit unsophisticated, writers gave the story a wide 
and unwarranted currency. On the other hand, an elaborate 
set of circumstances is advanced as evidence of his burial 
beside a spring near the bank of the Neshaminy creek in 
New Britain township, Bucks County, Pennsylvania." 
This tradition, as preserved by the Shewell family 84 of 
that county, relates that about 1740 or 1750 an aged chief, 
with his followers, was proceeding to attend a conference 
with the Pennsylvania Proprietaries at Philadelphia. The 
chief, too infirm to walk, was carried by younger members 
of the party. They halted near a spring, where the young 
Indians built a hut for the old man ; for they either became 
tired of their burden or wished to hasten to the conference 
at an appointed time. When night came on they decamped, 
leaving the old man under the care of an Indian girl. On 
awakening the following morning, he became so distressed 
and enraged at finding himself deserted that he sought death 
by stabbing himself; but his weakness frustrated this 
attempt, Fersevering in his endeavor to take his own life, 
he set fire to his bed of leaves and threw himself upon 
it. 8S The other Indians who, in the absence of their 
chief, were denied an audience by the Proprietaries, returned 
to the hut and found the old man, with a hole burned in his 
side, dead. The incident became known in the neighbor- 
hood, and Walter Shewell, a man of prominence in that 
vicinity, had the body buried near the hut, in the presence 
of the other Indians. Soon afterward the body of another 
Indian, presumed to be a son or descendant of the aged 
chief, was brought to the spring for burial, and laid beside 
the body of the patriarch. This legend of Tammany's 
death M found favor in the popular imagination, supplied 
the theme for odes and poems, and its action was repro- 



24 SAINT TAMMANY 

duced as a part of the ceremonial of the Tammany Societies' 
celebrations. In the New York Journal and Patriotic Regis- 
ter for May 19, 1792, we find an account of the celebration 
of the Tammany Society of Charleston, South Carolina, on 
May first of that year, in which a pantomime depicting Tam- 
many's tragic end is described as follows: 

At about 4 o'clock they sat down to a plain and plentiful 
dinner, and after imbibing a suitable quantity of Indian drink 
proceeded to the solemnity of burning the Old Chief, who being 
placed in the Wigwam and having sung the death song, fire 
was set thereto and the whole immediately consumed. A dance, 
after the Indian manner, concluded the ceremonies of the day. 

It is evident that the chief buried was not Tammany; 
for, if Tammany had been alive as late as 1749, he would 
scarcely have escaped the attention of the Moravian mis- 
sionaries who began their work among the Delaware Indians 
as early as 1742. We have no direct record of the date of 
Tammany's death, but from collateral facts it would seem 
that his career as a chieftain ended about 1698, for in that 
year Owhala, or Ocahle (Owechela), 37 is mentioned in 
the Maryland Council Records as King of the Dela wares. 
From the same source we learn that on August 29, 1700, 
in Cecil County, Maryland, Owhala on behalf of the Dela- 
ware Nation signed a treaty of friendship with the Mary- 
land Commissioners. Professors A. L.'Guss 38 is of the 
opinion that " Owhala/' " Owehala on Christina," and We- 
heeland, mentioned as Tammany's brother in the deed of 
July 6, 1697, are the same person; and that Weehee- 
queckhon, who was to be king after Tammany, was the 
celebrated Sassoonan or Allummapees. If this be true, it is 
fair to infer that Weheeland or Owehela, Tammany's 
brother, acted as regent during the minority of Wehee- 
queckhon. For on July 26, 1701, the Pennsylvania Coun- 
cil sent a message to Menangey, Hithquoquean, and Owe- 



TRADITIONS OF SAINT TAMMANY 25 

hela on Christina, the leaders of the southern Delawares, 
inviting them to be present at the next meeting of the 
assembly of the Province to discuss a proposed law prohibit- 
ing the sale of rum to Indians. If Tammany were then 
alive, his name would appear among those invited to attend 
so important a conference. Mercer, 33 however, is con- 
vinced that Tammany was deposed as Chief in 1718, that 
he was succeeded by Allummapees, and that his deposition 
was brought about by the powerful influences of the Iro- 
quois, who desired at the head of the Delaware Nation a 
chief in sympathy with their policies. It is Mercer's theory 
that Tammany thereafter lived in seclusion until his death 
in 1750, escaping the attention of the whites, though enjoy- 
ing a great reputation in his tribe. This view, while agree- 
able to those interested in the Bucks County legend, is not 
supported by facts, for Skalitchi was Chief of the Delawares 
in July, 1709, 39 and was succeeded in 1715 by Allum- 
mapees, who " actually shook himself to death with the 
ague," in October, 1747. Nevertheless, the tradition is still 
cherished, and the Bucks County Historical Society re- 
cently purchased the ground where the supposed Tammany 
was buried 40 and has selected a monument to be erected 
over the grave, bearing this inscription: 

To the Memory of 

the Celebrated Lenape Chieftain 

Tamenend 

once owner of this and all land 

between Neshaminy and Pen- 

nypack Creeks. These stones are 

placed at this spot near which 

an aged Indian, called Tammany 

by the pioneers of Bucks County 

was buried by white men about 

the year 1750. 41 



26 SAINT TAMMANY 

It is said that Tammany adopted the motto " Kwanio Che 
Keeteru," which has been translated " This is my right; I 
will defend it." 42 Horatio Hale, however, says the words 
are not of the Delaware language, but of Iroquois origin, 
and mean " I am master wherever I am." 43 The phrase 
is ancient, for in 1747 the Schuylkill Fishing Company pre- 
sented to the Association Battery a " new thirty-two 
pounder " cannon, which weighed between two and three 
tons, and on this gun were stamped the words said to have 
been the motto of the venerable Chief Tammany. 44 This 
cannon was used during the Revolutionary War, and on 
April 23, 1883, the gun was restored to the " State in 
Schuylkill " on its grounds known as the " Fish House Com- 
pany. " The phrase was later adopted as the motto of the 
Society of the Sons of St. Tammany in Philadelphia. 4 * 
Other writers have ascribed to Tammany the motto " Unite 
in peace for happiness and in war for defense." 4 * These 
mottoes were, of course, fictions of the white men, for the 
use of mottoes is a mark of civilization and culture. The 
only sign used by the Indians, so far as research shows, was 
a totemic device, the forerunner of the heraldic symbol of 
the family. A rude reproduction of the device was painted 
in a conspicuous place on the Indian hut, an invitation and 
assurance of brotherly aid and protection to passers-by hon- 
oring the same device. 47 

An interesting but vexatious phase of our inquiry con- 
cerning Tammany is presented by the Walam Olum, a rec- 
ord purporting to preserve the primitive legends and tradi- 
tions of the Lenni-Lenape. The legends were recorded in 
pictographs or hieroglyphics to perpetuate the chants by 
which the tribal legendary had been kept alive before the 
compilation of the " Walam Olum." The Olum was first 
procured by Constantine Samuel Rafmesque-Schmaltz in 
1820, as a reward for a medical cure. The songs and chants 



TRADITIONS OF SAINT TAMMANY 11 

were secured in 1822, and in 1833 Schmaltz made the trans- 
lation. Because of his unreliability — he was a discredited 
scientist, a tramp scholar, doing odd jobs for a living, at 
times a teacher, a prolific author, and a manufacturer and 
peddler of a nostrum or patent medicine — doubt has been 
cast on the authenticity of the work. 48 The Olum is 
divided into five parts or chapters, and contains one hundred 
and eighty-four verses, varying in length from one to five 
lines. As a whole it represents the traditions of the Dela- 
wares with reference to the Creation, and the tribal migra- 
tion from the north or west to the Atlantic coast line. 

From the beginning of this migration to the advent of 
the white man, the nation was ruled by ninety-four chiefs, 
two of which dynasty, the thirty-first and the seventy-sixth, 
were named Tamenend. The reference in the Olum 
to Tamenend, the thirty-first chief, with the translation 
reads : ** 

Weminitis tamenend sakimanep nekohatami 
Eluwiwulit matemenend wemi linapi nitis payat 
Wtenk wulitma maskansisil sakimanep w'tamaganat. 

All being friendly, the Affable was chief, the first of that 
name. 

He was very good, this Affable, and came as a friend to all 
the Lenape. 

After this good one, Strong-Buffalo was chief and pipe- 
bearer. 

The reference to Tamanend, the seventy-sixth chief, 
follows : 

Lappi tamenend sakimanepit wemi langundit. 
Wemi nitis wemi takwicken sakima kichwon. 

Again an Affable was chief, and made peace with all, 
All were friends, all were united under this great chief. 



28 SAINT TAMMANY 

If the Walam Olum be true, then the Tammany who 
reigned from 1683 to 1697, the period in which he dealt 
with Penn and his followers, was the third of his name, two 
others of that name having held the exalted position of 
Chief of the Nation before him. If we allow twenty-five 
years 50 as the average reign of each chief, the first 
"Affable " or " Tamenend " reigned about 800 years after 
the migration started, and about 1,500 years before the 
advent of the whites. By the same method of computation, 
the second "Affable " or " Tamenend," the seventy-sixth 
Chief mentioned in the work, reigned about 1,900' years after 
the start of the migration, and about 450 years before the 
landing of the whites, or about the middle of the llth Cen- 
tury. Both chiefs are described as exceptional men and 
remarkable peacemakers, and both had power to unite the 
tribes, allay discord, and bring universal peace and happi- 
ness to the Nation. Thus it is possible that to these 
chiefs 51 rightfully belong the glory and fame that attach 
to the name of Tammany, and perhaps the missionaries and 
early writers who secured these legends and traditions from 
the Indians applied them indiscriminately to the only Tam- 
many of whom they knew. On the other hand, if the 
Walam Olum is rejected as unworthy of credence, this ex- 
planation of the source of the unearned attributes with which 
Tammany is credited falls- For we are inclined to agree 
with Brintoms view that authentic history tells us nothing 
about the migrations of the Lenape before we find them 
in the valley of the Delaware. There is no positive evidence 
that they arrived from the west ; still less concerning their 
earlier wanderings. The true history of the Delaware be- 
gins with his association with civilized man. 52 



CANONIZATION 29 



3. Canonization. 

In 1698 the name of Tammany as a real person vanishes 
from our history, to reappear in 1771 in the guise of the 
Patron Saint of American Liberty. On December 24th of 
the latter year, a letter was written by William Eddis " 
of Annapolis, in which he described " St. Tamina " as the 
saint revered by the Americans on that part of the continent, 
and tells us that the first of May was set apart as sacred to 
his memory. Tnis is the first extant reference to Tammany 
as a saint. The development of the Tammany legend be- 
tween 1698 and 1771 has not been chronicled, but the fol- 
lowing paragraph in a letter from Ebenezer Hazard of 
Philadelphia to Dr. Jeremy Belknap, 54 dated at Phila- 
delphia, June 14, 1784, gives some idea of the process by 
which the sanctification of Tammany was evolved : 

Tammany was an Indian Sachem, whether real or fictitious 
I do not know ; but the first day of May has long been con- 
sidered as his day. When I was a boy I used to wear in my 
hat upon that day a buck's tail, gilded, and a picture of an 
Indian (Tammany, no doubt), shooting a deer with a bow 
and arrow. We used to talk of King Tammany then but it 
seems he has been canonized since the Declaration of Inde- 
pendence, and has now become a Saint. He will make as good 
an one as any in the Calendar ; though I have not heard that 
he has been approved by his Holiness. However, as he is, I 
suppose, to be the titular Saint of Pennsylvania, and Pennsyl- 
vania is one of the United States, Congress ought to have been 
consulted about it. Should the " balance of Power " between 
the States be destroyed by this accession of weight to the Penn- 
sylvania Scale, it would be a sad affair. This same saint's day 
is kept principally by natives of this state; but I apprehend 
anybody might be admitted who would pay his club towards a 
good time and liquors to get drunk with. 55 



30 SAINT TAMMANY 

To this letter Dr. Belknap replied from Dover, N. H., in 
part as follows : 

I thank you for the account of King or Saint Tammany, 
who is a being of about as much importance to your bucks as 
St. Patrick is to the Hibernians, or St. Cuffee to the Negroes : 
i. e., he serves to give them a yearly feast ; but I dare say his 
votaries are not content with such fare as St. Tammany 
himself lived on. 56 

Inasmuch as Hazard was born in 1744, his recollection 
does not carry the celebration of Saint T;::viviany's Day back 
very far, although these festivities may have been held as 
early as 1752, 5 ' when Hazard was but eight years old. 
He is mistaken, however, about the date of Tammany's 
canonization, for it is clear from the letter of Eddis that 
Tammany was on the Calendar of Saints at least five years 
prior to the Declaration of Independence. Many explana- 
tions of the canonization of Tammany have been expressed. 
Mr. Albert Matthews explains the anomaly in the following 
words : 5S 

Clearly, however, the need was felt for some native Saint 
as an offset to the foreign saints ; and the Canonization of 
Tammany was doubtless a joke on the part of some facetious 
American. My guess is that the Canonization took place be- 
tween 1765 and 1771, or, in other words, was a manifestation 
of that opposition of the British Government which character- 
ized the stormy decade between the passage of the Stamp Act 
in 1765 and the outbreak of the Revolution in 1775. 

Another writer states : 

The custom of European nations to adopt some Saint as a 
patron, a relique of the early Monkish times, perhaps gave to 
an Indian Chief of the Leni Lenape (or Delaware) Tribe, the 
innocent prefixture, which the Mother Church allows only to 
those who have passed the ordeal of Canonization. Tammany, 
an Indian Chief, whose abode was one of the beautiful vallies 



CANONIZATION 31 

which now form the neighborhood of Germantown, had dis- 
tinguished himself (by his urbanity and hospitality, his kindness 
and affection to the early settlers of this city ; and many anec- 
dotes are told of him, which would not dishonor the sanctity 
of those Saints whose names have a day appropriate, a legiti- 
mate place, in the Calendar. 59 

Some writers ascribe to John Trumbull the honor of being 
the first to enroll Tammany on the roster of saints, to check 
the Tory influence of societies such as St. George, St. An- 
drew and St. David, whose members were fervent in their 
loyalty to the King of Great Britain. We find this theory 
first enunciated in an anonymous work entitled "A Brief 
Account of the Origin and Progress of the Tammany So- 
ciety; Who Saint Tammany was, and why the Society de- 
rived their Name from him," published in New York in 
1838. A paragraph from this work is perhaps the most con- 
vincing example of the inaccuracy and confusion of which 
writers adopting this view were victims. It reads as 
follows : 

A Mr. Trumbull, I believe, at the time, a gentleman of the 
bar, in Hartford, Con., author of Mr. Fingal's " American 
Liberty Triumphant, or the Downfall of British Tyranny, and 
the death of General Montgomery/' who contributed as much 
by his pen, as most others by the sword, in achieving the inde- 
pendence of his country. He saw the object of those royal 
associations, and to counteract their pernicious influence, and to 
form a rallying point for the friends of liberty, proposed to 
form a national society. 60 What should it be called was 
the question? As most every christian government in Europe 
had its national patron saint, they concluded to adopt one, and, 
as they were striving, or looking forward to found an inde- 
pendent American government, they did not wish to borrow a 
saint, and as modern saints were not held in high repute, they 
were induced to fix upon an aborigine, who of course must be 
a true American, and . . . they fixed upon an Indian Chief 
of the Delaware tribe. 



32 SAINT TAMMANY 

R. G. Horton, writing some twenty years later, accepts 
this view and gives it the added weight of positive affirma- 
tion. In the following sentence he saddles this palpable 
error on the subsequent course of historical treatment of 
the subject: " To John Trumbull, the author of the clever- 
est imitation of Hudibras which has ever been written, it 
is said, belongs the distinction of first originating the desig- 
nation of 'St. Tammany.' " 61 

However, a careful examination of the works of Trum- 
bull and his contemporaries of the Connecticut school of 
poets, " The Hartford Wits," 62 fails to reveal a single 
allusion to Saint Tammany. In fact the name seems to 
have been wholly unfamiliar to New England. 63 More- 
over, although Trumbull was the author of " M'Fingal," 64 
a caustic satire on England's oppressive attitude toward the 
colonies, he was not the author of " Mr. Fingal's American 
Liberty Triumphant, or the Downfall of British Tyr- 
anny, and the death of General Montgomery," 5 as our 
anonymous writer so confidently asserts. Nor did he pro- 
pose to form a national society to counteract the influence 
of " those royal associations." For the idea of the forma- 
tion of a national society came long after the formation of 
the early societies of Saint Tammany, and is plainly trace- 
able to John Pintard, whose effort is discussed in the next 
chapters. It is clear that the author of this anonymous 
pamphlet, who states in his preface that he had " only to 
observe that the author was born in the year 1769," was 
writing from memory and had confused (he was then 69 
years of age) the works of John Trumbull with those 
of John Leacock; 66 for Leacock was the author of a 
comedy published at Philadelphia in 1776, entitled " The 
fall of British Tyranny; or, American Liberty triumphant. 
The first campaign, a tragi-comedy of five acts, as lately 
planned at the Royal Theatrum Pandemonium, at St. 



CANONIZATION 33 

James's. The principal place of action in America." 6T 
On April 30, 1776, a song taken from this comedy appeared 
in the Pennsylvania Evening Post* 8 published at Phila- 
delphia. It contained the first reference to Tammany as 
America's Patron Saint, and, appearing shortly after the 
first skirmish of battle with Great Britain, became extrav- 
agantly popular with the patriots. It was sung at all cele- 
brations of the Tammany Societies, 69 and to its strains 
the Sons of Tammany marched to their festivals. After its 
publication the song is mentioned as a part of the cere- 
monial of almost every celebration in honor of Saint Tam- 
many, and, because of its significant influence upon his na- 
tional canonization, it is quoted here in full : 

The First of May, a New Song, in Praise of St. Tam- 
many, the American Saint. 

(Tune, The Hounds are all out, &c. 70 ) 

" Of St. George, or St. Bute, let the poet Laureat sing, 
Of Pharaoh or Pluto of old, 
While he rhimes forth their praise, in false, flattering lays, 
I'll sing of St. Tamm'ny the bold, my brave boys. 

" Let Hibernia's sons boast, make Patrick their toast, 
And Scots Andrew's fame spread abroad, 
Potatoes and oats, and Welch leeks for Welch goats, 
Was never St. Tammany's food, my brave boys. 

" In freedom's bright cause, Tamm'ny pled with applause, 
And reason'd most justly from nature; 
For this, this was his song, all, the day long; 
Liberty's the right of each creature, brave boys. 

" Whilst under an oak his great parliament sat, 
His throne was the crotch of the tree ; 
With Solomon's look, without statutes or book, 
He wisely sent forth his decree, my brave boys. 



34 SAINT TAMMANY 

" His subjects stood round, not the least noise or sound, 
Whilst freedom blaz'd full in each face: 
So plain were the laws, and each pleaded his cause ; 
That might Bute, North and Mansfield disgrace, my brave 
boys. 

" No duties, nor stamps, their blest liberty cramps, 
A king, tho' no tyrant, was he ; 
He did oft'times declare, nay sometimes wou'd swear, 
The least of his subjects were free, my brave boys. 

" He, a king of the woods, of the rivers and floods, 
Had a right all beasts to control ; 
Yet, content with a few, to give nature her due : 
So gen'rous was Tammany's soul ! my brave boys. 

" In the morn he arose, and a-hunting he goes, 
Bold Nimrod his second was he; 
For his breakfast he'd take a large venison steak, 
And despis'd your flip-flops and tea, my brave boys. 

" While all in a row, with squaw, dog and bow, 
Vermilion adorning his face, 
With feathery head he rang'd the woods wide : 

St. George sure had never such grace, my brave boys. 

" His jetty black hair, such as Buckskin saints wear, 
Perfumed with bear's grease well smear'd, 
Which illum'd the saint's face, and ran down apace, 
Like the oil from Aaron's old beard, my brave boys. 

" The strong nervous deer, with amazing career, 
In swiftness he'd fairly run down; 
And, like Sampson, wou'd tear wolf, lion or bear. 
Ne'er was such a saint as our own, my brave boys. 

" When he'd run down a stag, he behind him wou'd lag ; 
For so noble a soul had he ! 
He'd stop, tho' he lost it, tradition reports it, 

To give him fresh chance to get free, my brave boys. 



CANONIZATION 35 

" From his quiver he drew forth an arrow so keen ; 
And seiz'd fast his imperial bow; 
It flew straight to the heart, like an Israelite dart ; 
Could St. Andrew ever do so, my brave boys? 

" With a mighty strong arm, and a masculine bow, 
His arrow he drew to the head, 
And as sure as he shot, it was ever his lot, 
His prey it fell instantly dead, my brave boys. 

" His table he spread where the vension bled, 
Be thankful, he used to say ; 
He'd laugh and he'd sing, tho' a saint and a king, 
And sumptuously dine on his prey, my brave boys. 

" Then over the hills, o'er the mountains and rills, 
He'd caper, such was his delight ; 
And ne'er in his days, Indian history says, 

Did lack a good supper at night, my brave boys. 

" On an old stump he sat, without cap or hat, 
When supper was ready to eat, 
Snap, his dog, he stood by, and cast a sheep's eye ; 
For ven'son's the king of all meat, my brave boys. 

" Like Isaac of old, and both cast in one mold, 
Tho' a wigwam was Tamm'ny's cottage, 
He lov'd sav'ry meat, such that patriarch eat, 
Of ven'son and squirrel made pottage, brave boys. 

" When four score years old, as I've oft'times been told, 
To doubt it, sure, would not be right, 
With pipe in his jaw, he'd buss his old squaw, 
And get a young saint ev'ry night, my brave boys. 

" As old age came on, he grew blind, deaf and dumb, 
Tho' his sport, 'twere hard to keep from it, 
Quite tired of life, bid adieu to his wife, 

And blaz'd 71 like the tail of a comet, brave boys. 



36 SAINT TAMMANY 

" What country on earth, then, did ever give birth 
To such a magnanimous saint? 
His acts far excel all that history tell, 

And language too feeble to paint, my brave boys. 

" Now, to finish my song, a full flowing bowl 
I'll quaff, and sing all the long day, 
And with punch and wine paint my cheeks for my saint, 
And hail ev'ry First of Sweet May, my brave boys. 72 

Painstaking research has failed to reveal an earlier 
reference to Saint Tammany, as a national figure, and John 
Leacock is alone entitled to credit for popularizing the 
Indian chieftain as America's patron saint. 73 

The influence of Saint Tammany and the activities of 
his votaries subsequent to 1771 are readily followed, but 
the changes and events of the seventy-three years imme- 
diately preceding that date are veiled in mystery. The 
arrowheads of history, however, indicate that the trans- 
formation of the Delaware chieftain into the patron saint 
of America had origin in Pennsylvania, and that his canoni- 
zation was not spontaneous, nor was it due to the genius 
or facetiousness of any individual. 

Although the intolerant attitude of the home government 
toward the American colonies aided in making St. Tam- 
many a popular figure and gave an added impetus to the 
early movement of the Tammany Societies, it is evident that 
their development was not solely a manifestation of hos- 
tility to British suppression. Careful research reveals that 
the canonization of Tammany may be traced to the Schuyl- 
kill Fishing Company, a society established in 1732 by 
Quakers of Philadelphia. 74 According to the tradition 
of this club, certain Indian chiefs, including Tammany, 
granted to its members and their successors the right to 
fish and hunt within defined limits in the waters of the 



CANONIZATION 37 

Schuylkill and the adjacent woods. Each year the sport- 
ing season opened on May first, which became a day of 
celebration and festivity to members of the club. The 
society adopted Tammany as its Patron and Saint, and May 
first was assigned as his day. On October 11, 1782, when 
victory for the American colonists seemed assured, the Club, 
which had become known as the " Colony in Schuylkill," 
changed its name to the " State in Schuylkill " and adopted 
new by-laws, among which we note the following : u 
" 10th. There shall be the following meetings of the Gov- 
ernor and Council annually. . . . One on the first of 
May, to commemorate the day of our illustrious Saint and 
Patron, St. Tammany." 

This custom of adopting patrons is of remote origin, prac- 
ticed among the guilds and trades of ancient Greece and 
Rome, 75 and, in the Middle Ages, adopted by govern- 
ments, which denominated Saints of the Church as their 
patrons. Later societies also selected saints, from whom 
their ideals were derived, and to whom their activities were 
dedicated. The Schuylkill Fishing Company, in conformity 
with this custom, most naturally selected as its patron saint 
the Indian chief, who, thirty-five years before the Society 
was organized, inhabited that region, and who sold to 
William Penn the very ground on which stood the " State 
House " of the Society. It also adopted as its motto the 
words said to have been the favorite maxim of the 
Chief. 76 Following this society, two other fishing clubs 7T 
were organized on the banks of the Schuylkill prior to the 
Revolution, and on every first of May the season was 
opened with much ceremony. As the clubs grew in 
importance and prestige, their celebrations gained in so- 
cial splendor and spread through Philadelphia and its 
vicinity the fame of the original club's saint and patron. 
Slowly his name found its way into print. From the 



38 SAINT TAMMANY 

meagre data at hand, it would seem that the appellation 
" Saint " was not generally accepted at Philadelphia until 
1773, for in May, 1772, the name, so far as we can learn, 
first appeared in print in Philadelphia as " King Tam- 
many," 78 when the " Sons of King Tammany " held their 
first meeting. However, on June 14, 1772, the name 
appears in the public press as " King (or Saint) Tam- 
many," ' and by 1773 his claim to canonization was 
well established, and his right to a place on the Calendar 
of Saints publicly recognized. On April 28, 1773, the fol- 
lowing notice of a meeting of the Sons of Saint Tammany 
made its appearance : 80 

The Natives of this flourishing Province determined to fol- 
low so laudable a custom, and for some years past have adopted 
a great warrior sachem and chief named Tammany, a fast 
friend to our forefathers, to be the tutelar Saint of this Prov- 
ince, and have hitherto, on the 1st of May, done the accustomed 
honors to the memory of so great and celebrated a personage. 

A few days later, May 1, 1773, Miss Sarah Eve, who 
resided near Philadelphia, made the following note in her 
journal : 81 " This morning was ushered in by the ring- 
ing of bells, in honor of King Tammany, as he was used 
to be called, but now, I think, they have got him canonized, 
for he is now celebrated as St. Tammany." 

The invitation of April 28, 1773, 80 indicates clearly 
that Tammany had been known as " Saint " for some years, 
despite the apparent lack of recognition in the public press, 
and that he had been unofficially adopted as the tutelar Saint 
of the Province of Pennsylvania. 

After 1765 Philadelphia was the center of heated dis- 
cussions of England's tyranny, and when the Revolution 
broke out the Pennsylvania troops quite naturally adopted 
their Provincial Saint as Patron and Guide. 82 This 
example was followed by the Continental Army, and dur- 



CANONIZATION 39 

ing the War the natal day of Saint Tammany was reve- 
rently celebrated both at home and on the field. This 
observance was continued by the army long after the con- 
clusion of War, until discontinued by order of General 
Dearborn, and then only as a part of the policy of retrench- 
ment instituted by President Jefferson. 83 

The passing of Tammany as a heathen chief and his 
accession to the dignity of our Patron Saint are marked by 
progressive steps. He first appears as the patron of a social 
club in Philadelphia; in 1773 he is the tutelary Saint of 
the Province of Pennsylvania, and during the Revolution 
he is Patron and Guide to the Continental Army. In 
1773 his canonization was widely recognized, and by the 
year 1786 the regard for Saint Tammany was so great that 
he was well established as our National Saint. 84 Be- 
tween 1773 and 1789, in the process of evolution from the 
obscurity of a local patron to the dignity of a national figure, 
his glory and achievements were celebrated in story and 
song. The annual celebrations of the Sons of Saint Tam- 
many of Philadelphia were usually graced by the delivery 
of an ode or poem dedicated to the memory of the Saint 
and his day. 85 Three poems delivered on these occasions 
are repeated here, as typical of the eulogies offered in his 
honor : 

Character of St. Tammany. 86 

" When superstition's dark and haughty plan 
Fetter'd the genius, and debas'd the man, 
Each trifling legend was as truth receiv'd ; 
The priest invented, and the crowd believ'd. 
Nations adorn'd the whim in stone and paint, 
And gloried in the fabricated saint. 
Some holy guardian, hence, each nation claims, 
Gay France her Denis, and grave Spain her James ; 



40 SAINT TAMMANY 

Britons two mighty saints at once obey ; 

4 Andrew and George maintain united sway ' ; 

O'er humbler lands the same old whim prevails ; 

Ireland her Patrick boasts, her David, Wales. 

We, Pennsylvanians, these old tales reject, 

And our own saint think proper to elect ; 

Immortal Tammany, of Indian Race ! 

Great in the field, and foremost in the chace ! 

No puny saint was he, with fasting pale ; 

He climb'd the mountain, and he swept the vale ; 

Rush'd through the forest with unequalled might; 

Your ancient saints would tremble at the sight: 

Caught the swift boar, and swifter deer with ease, 

And work'd a thousand miracles like these. 

To public views he added private ends, 

And lov'd his country most, and next his friends ; 

With courage long he strove to ward the blow 

(Courage we all respect, ev'n in a foe) ; 

And when each effort he in vain had tried, 

Kindled the flame 36 in which he bravely died ! 

To Tammany let well-fill'd horns go round; 

His fame let ev'ry honest tongue resound. 

With him let ev'ry gen'rous patriot vie, 

To live in freedom, or with honour die ; 

Nor shall I think my labor too severe, 

Since ye, wise sachems, kindly deign to hear. 



Ode for Saint Tammany's Day, May 1st, 1785. 87 

(Written by Tenxogrondi, a Delaware Chief.) 

" Donna makoo makoonos ! 
Kuikoo donna makoo ; 
Wawa nekoonos; 
Guahee honigee. 



CANONIZATION 41 

(Full Chorus) 

" Ever sacred be this day, 
Genial morn of rosy May. 

(Recitative) 

" To Schuylkill's fair banks let us cheerfully repair, 
For pure is the sether, and fragrant the air; 
Soft zephyrs shall fan us, and eke thro' the grove, 
The genius of Tammany shield us with love, 
No foes shall intrude with inquisitive eye, 
Our orgies, our dances, our mysteries to spy. 

(Air) 
" Adieu to your wives, 
Come gird on your knives, 
Your tomahawks, arrows and bows! 
Your bodies besmear, 
With oil of the bear, 
And look undismay'd on your foes. 

(Recitative) 

" Kindle up the council fires, 
Lo ! our Saint the flame inspires, 
Whilst we pass the flowing bowl ! 
Let the smoky volumes roll, 
From the calumet and pipe, 
Of sweet Peace the welcome type, 
Let our Sachems' healths go round, 
Beat with nimble foot the ground ; 
Till the woods and hills reply, 
Vocal mirth and symphony. 

(Chorus) 

" Ever sacred be this day, 
Genial morn of rosy May. 



42 SAINT TAMMANY 

(Recitative) 

" Now the hatchet we'll bury, since war is no more, 
And peace with rich plenty revisits our shore ; 
To hunt the fleet stag o'er the mountains we'll run ; 
In sports we alone will employ the fell gun ; 
Our fields shall be clothed with gay heavens again, 
And friendship will brighten the blood rusted chain; 
But should war call us forth then adieu to our glee, 
Each shoulders his rifle and takes to his tree. 

(Air) 

" Hail, Columbia Tutelar ! 
Tho' thy ashes distant are — 
Hid beneath the mountain side, 
Or below the rapid tide: 
Still thy warlike shade attends, 
Smiling on thy filial friends ; 
Leads their dances, aids their pleasure, 
Joys dispensing, without measure. 

(Recitative) 

" Now each Sachem join hands round the Liberty Pole, 
And briskly again pass the heart cheering bowl; 
To Washington's mem'ry, the chief of our train, 
The full flowing goblet, repeated we'll drain ; 
Then next to each chieftain, who fought, and who bled, 
Let's sing a Requiem and toast him, tho' dead. 

(Air) 

" For Tammany's holy, 
Let's fire a volley, 

That hills, woods, and rocks may reply, 
We'll found him in powder, 
Still louder and louder, 
Till echo shall rend the blue sky. 



CANONIZATION 43 

(Chorus) 



" Ever sacred be this day, 
Genial morn of rosy May. 

(Recitative) 

" In volumes of smoke, and in spires of flame, 
Our Tutelar flew to the spheres, 
He left us his blessing, his weapons, his fame, 
And hearts unacquainted with fears. 
The shades of our ancestors cluster around, 
To welcome our chief from the wars ; 
With laurels celestial his temples they bound, 
Then thron'd him -on high midst the stars. 

(Air) 

" Sound the horns, ye tuneful choirs, 
'Tis our Saint the note inspires ; 
Brace the drums and make them roll, 
Martial music charms the soul ; 
Soon, responsive to the chorus, 
Tammany shall stand before us ; 
On the mossy velvet green, 
Smiling on us, tho' unseen. 

(Chorus) 

" Charge the bowl again with liquor, 
Pass it briskly, pass it quicker; 
Sachems, warriors, now advance, 
From the ring, begin to dance, 
Music summons us to pleasure, 
Mark the tune, and time the measure, 
Full of mirth, and full of glee, 
Thus conclude our jubilee. 



44 SAINT TAMMANY 

(Grand Chorus) 

" Ever sacred be this day, 
Genial morn of rosy May. 

Exeunt Omnes — Indian file. 

To Captains 

Karafcuta, 
Kill Buck, 
Corn Stalk, 
Turkey Tail, and i 
Mymna 



► Great Sachems and warriors. 



Ode for Saint Tammany, This Day, May, 1787. 8S 

" Tammany. Balance a straw. 

" Once more on Fair Schuylkill we cheerfully meet, 
Our Sachems, our warriors, our ■brethren to greet ; 
The Great King above, has allow'd us again 
To bury the hatchet, and brighten the chain, 
Then your hands all my sons — who for freedom have stood, 
Who rescued my land at th' expense of your blood : 
Such honors in hist'ry's bright annals shall shine, 
And I glory to think such bold heroes are mine. 

" First Sachem. Over the bills, &c. 

" Our hearts.and hands are always free, 
To brave the storm for Tammany ; 
When he commands, his sons obey, 
Over the hills and far away. 

Chorus. 

" Over the hills, like wind we fly, 
To crush the foe, or bravely die ; 
Our Saint's commands none disobey, 
Over the hills and far away. 

De Capo — the chorus, the whole. 



CANONIZATION 45 

'* Second Sachem. Peas upon a trencher. 

" To Columbia's glory, 
Recorded well in story, 
We'll fill the glass, 
And let it pass — 
Confusion to each Tory ! 

Chorus repeated. 

" Third Sachem. Once the Gods of the Greek, &c. 

" Push about the brisk glass, 'twill enliven the soul, 
'Tis the wine that absorbs all dull thinking; 
Ev'n Cupid himself must give way to the bowl, 
For his wounds are all caus'd by good drinking. 

Chorus. 

" For 'tis wine, generous wine, that all sorrow destroys, 
And routs our vexations and care : 
The bottle was always a fountain of joy, 
That wash'd off the dregs of despair. 

Chorus repeated. 

" Fourth Sachem. The Black rogue. 

" Sing guahee honigee — honigee makoonos, 
Siskee anarichee, saturana waa; 
Oroonyagh makoonos, satira nekoonos, 
Sangua taverana kenan anungara. 

Chorus. 

" Drink round, drink round, each sachem and brother, 
Drink round, drink round, and heed what I say! 
A day like this, you'll ne'er find another, 
So let us be cheerful, brisk, merry and gay. 

Chorus repeated. 






46 SAINT TAMMANY 

" Tammany. Vaudeville — Balance a straw. 

" Farewell ye fair banks, and ye fresh blooming trees, 
Soft scenes of rich plenty and sweet smiling ease; 
Again I return to the regions above, 
And leave you my blessing, my wisdom, my love. 

Guard your rights while you live, with your swords and your 

guns, 
And may they descend, unalloy'd to our sons ! 
While Sol on this day shall propitiously shine 
Be Peace, Independence and Liberty — thine. 

Four last lines repeated. 

4. Sources of Legendary. 

Most of the legends of this chief and his remarkable per- 
formances obtained currency through two sources: (1) an 
oration delivered by Samuel L. Mitchill before the Tam- 
many Society or Columbian Order in the City of New York 
on May 12, 1795; and (2) the reports of missionaries 
among the Delaware Indians, as exemplified by John G. B. 
Heckewelder, a Moravian. 

Mitchill 89 gives in his oration a stirring account of 
Tammany as warrior, hunter, lawgiver, diplomat, doctor, 
farmer and peacemaker, and describes in harrowing detail a 
sanguinary conflict between Tammany and the Evil Spirit, 
from which the chief at length emerges victorious. Finally, 
the orator tells us, Tammany, too old to rule, abdicated in 
favor of a younger man, and some years afterward was 
laid to rest near Muskingum, Ohio, where a great mound 
of earth was erected over his grave. 

In 1809 William L. Marcy delivered an oration entitled 
"A traditional account of the life of Tammany, an 
Indian Chief," before the Tammany Society of Troy, New 
York. 90 While Marcy states that he derived his informa- 



SOURCES OF LEGENDARY 47 

tion " from the uncertain light of tradition, which often 
bewilders the most inquisitive reseaches, by the apparent 
inconsistency of facts and seeming irreconciliations of 
chronology," a glance at the work shows that it is based 
entirely on Mitchill's oration, although presented from a 
different point of view. 

Subsequent writers dealing with Tammany have fallen 
into the serious error of assuming that Mitchill intended to 
give an authentic life of Tammany, and they have freely 
followed his lead. In a. letter dated August 9, 1811, 
Mitchill, however, made known that the work was a crea- 
tion of the imagination, and not intended to be taken 
seriously. This letter, which was addressed to B. F. 
Thompson, the historian of Long Island, has been pre- 
served, and reads as follows : 91 

New York, Aug. 9, 1811. 
My dear Sir: 

I thank you for your ingenious and patriotic oration to the 
Columbian Order, for our last National New Year's Day. I 
shall preserve it among the mementoes of my valued acquain- 
tance. 

If I can find any where a copy of my long talk on the life, 
exploits, and precepts of Tammany, I will certainly send it to 
you. The only copy that I have is bound up with various 
other pamphlets, and very inconvenient to be sent abroad. It 
is a large octavo volume. The society gave the orator but a 
few copies ; and they were begged away by parents who wished 
to read to their children, the advice given by Tammany to the 
tribes of his people. But the printer, who published it, is since 
dead ; and I know not who purchased his stock. I wish, with 
all my heart, I could get a copy for you. 

It was a sportive thing, done during a time when I had in- 
flamed eyes, and could not bear the light; at a period, too, 
when political fervor was very hot, just when Mr. Jay had 
succeeded in his election as Governor of the State. I intended 



48 SAINT TAMMANY 

the composition to be a sort of moral romance; yet what was 
my surprise to find it considered by both political parties a 
deep Political Allegory ! The Democrats on one side and the 
Federalists on the other, discovered manifold meanings that 
had never occurred to me, and their respective significations 
were as opposite as their ways of thinking. 

One thing remarkable grew out of my Tammanial address. 
A copy by some means fell into the hands of the Earl of 
Buchan. He presented it to the Society of Scottish Anti- 
quaries ; and I shortly after received a certificate from Edin- 
burgh, of having been elected a member. So much for our 
fetich Saint and Sage. It will be gratifying to me to receive 
your essay on Tobacco ; though I am somewhat of a smoker 
of cigars myself. I am satisfied I shall read it with satisfac- 
tion, although Sir J. Sinclair has proved that the moderate 
use of it does not shorten life an hour. Truly and with much 
esteem, 

Yours, 

Sam'l L. Mitchill. 

The influence of the early missionaries and their reports 
upon the history and traditions of Tammany may be dis- 
missed with the consideration of the works of their leading 
commentator, Heckewelder. Heckewelder, long a mission- 
ary among the Delawares, was strongly prejudiced in their 
favor, and unconsciously colored many of their traditions. 
He had only a speaking knowledge of the Delaware mis- 
sion dialect, and many of his conjectural interpretations of 
their customs fell wide of the mark. 92 He taught at 
the Moravian Missions at Friedenhutten and Sheshequin, 
Pennsylvania, from 1765 to 1771, and then, becoming an 
Evangelist, went with David Zeisberger among the Dela- 
wares in Ohio. Upon his return to Bethlehem, Pa., in 
1810, he devoted his time to literary pursuits, and in 1819 
published his work on the Delaware Indians. This work 



SOURCES OF LEGENDARY 49 

contains the following lofty estimate of the Delaware 
Sachem : 93 

The name of Tamanend is held <in the highest veneration 
among the Indians. Of all the Chiefs and great men which 
the Lenape Nation ever had, he stands foremost on the list. 
But although many fabulous stories are circulated about him 
among the whites, but little of his history is known. The 
misfortunes which have befallen some of the most beloved 
and esteemed personages among the Indians since the Euro- 
peans came among them, prevent the survivors from indulg- 
ing in the pleasure of recalling to mind the memory of their 
virtues. No white man who regards their feelings will intro- 
duce such subjects in conversation with them. 

All we know, therefore, of Tamanend, is that he was an 
ancient Delaware Chief, who never had his equal. He was 
in the highest degree endowed with wisdom, virtue, prudence, 
charity, affability, meekness, hospitality, in short, with every 
good and noble qualification that a human being may pos- 
sess. He was supposed to have had an intercourse with the 
Great and Good Spirit; for he was a stranger to everything 
that is bad. 

When Colonel George Morgan, of Princeton in New Jersey, 
was about the year 1776, sent by Congress as an agent to the 
Western Indians, the Delawares conferred on him the name 
of Tamanend, in honor and remembrance of their ancient 
Chief, and as the greatest mark of respect which they could 
show to that gentleman, who they said had the same address, 
affability and meekness as their honored chief, and therefore 
ought to be named after him. 

The name of this great man extended even among the whites, 
who fabricated numerous legends respecting him, which I 
never heard, however, from the mouth of an Indian, and 
therefore believe to be fabulous. In the Revolutionary War 
his enthusiastic admirers dubbed him a Saint, and he was es- 
tablished under the name of St. Tammany, the Patron Saint 
of America. His name was inserted in some calendars, and 
his festival celebrated on the first day of May in every year. 



50 SAINT TAMMANY 

Heckewelder was in Ohio at the time " The Prophet," 
the Shawanese agitator, was in the zenitlr of his power. 
The influence of the Prophet was strong among the Dela- 
wares, who were at that time the friends and allies of the 
Shawanese, and they doubtless related to Heckewelder 
stories concerning this remarkable contemporary. The 
inaccuracy of Heckewelder's commentaries is exhibited by 
his mistake concerning so intimate a fact as the identity 
of the Prophet, 90 whom the commentator mistook for the 
Prophet's brother, Tecumseh. That Heckewelder confused 
the stories related about the Prophet, with legends asso- 
ciated with the name of Tammany, is apparent from his 
account of an alleged tradition that Tammany had inter- 
course with the Great Spirit. This was the cardinal pre- 
tension of the Prophet, according to so reliable an authority 
as Thomas Jefferson. We quote from a letter written by 
Jefferson to John Adams : 96 

Monticello, April 12, 1812. 
Dear Sir: 

. . . The Wabash Prophet is more rogue than fool, 
if to be a rogue is not the greatest of all follies. 

He rose to notice while I was in the administration, and be- 
came, of course, a proper subject for me. The inquiry was 
made with diligence. His declared object was the reformation 
of his red brethren, and their return to their pristine manner 
of living. He pretended to be in constant communication with 
the Great Spirit, that he was instructed by him to make known 
to the Indians that they were created by him distinct from 
the whites, of different natures for different purposes, and 
placed under different circumstances adapted to their Natures 
and destinies ; that they must return from all the ways of the 
whites, to the habits and opinions of their fore-fathers. 

Another influence upon the growth of these traditions 
may be found in the subserviency of the Delawares to the 



SOURCES OF LEGENDARY 51 

Iroquois Confederacy, for it is more than probable that in 
recognizing- the powerful suzerainty of their overlords, the 
Delawares adopted and perhaps confused with their own 
the legends and traditions of the Iroquois. At the time 
William Penn arrived in America, the Delawares were com- 
pletely under the influence of the Five Nations. At a coun- 
cil held in Philadelphia on July 6, 1694, Hithquoquean, 
speaking for the Delawares, acknowledged their humiliat- 
ing subjection in a few words: "We have allways been 
a peacable people, and resolving to live so, and being but 
week and verie few in numbers, cannot assist you." 97 
At this time the Delawares were rapidly declining in 
strength and spirit, and doubtless absorbed the traditions 
and institutions of the Iroquois. It is probable, therefore, 
that the traditions of the Iroquois came to be considered a 
part of the history of the Delawares. Thus it is likely that 
the exploits of the great Hiawatha have been unjustly 
ascribed to Tammany, and that the missionaries and even 
the Delawares themselves in later years 98 perpetuated 
this confusion. The traditions that are credited to Tam- 
many closely correspond with stories of the achievements 
of Hiawatha. Hiawatha was a warrior, a lawgiver, a 
reformer and a diplomat, and aimed to- bring universal peace 
and contentment to the American Indian, a purpose cred- 
ited to both Tamenends in the Walam Olum. By his genius, 
perseverance and tact, he succeeded in uniting the various 
Indian tribes that were constantly at war with one another, 
and in establishing a Confederacy of Nations that was 
America's first great political organization. His influence 
shaped the history of the American continent, for the 
Iroquois Confederacy, the creation of his genius, was the 
bulwark against which the southward trend of French ambi- 
tion for a colonial empire was shattered and spent. This 
made possible the American Union. 



52 SAINT TAMMANY 

In contrast to this remarkable figure, Tammany stands as 
a mere name, leaving no memorial of epoch-making accom- 
plishment or institution of permanence among his people. 
Through the arbitrary selection of his name by writers of 
romance, and through the blunders and confusion of the 
early missionaries, and perhaps of the Delawares them- 
selves, the glory and the fame of right belonging to the 
talented Hiawatha have been attributed to Tammany." 
The real Tammany, it must be concluded, was a chief of 
ordinary attainments, who made little impression on his 
white contemporaries, and whose conduct in no wise influ- 
enced the history of the land in which he lived. His notable 
virtues and fancied deeds are wholly incongruous with his 
recorded characteristics and achievements, and the eager 
veneration bestowed upon this pagan saint finds no warrant 
either in historic fact or in relevant legendary to any extent 
commensurate with the dignity and grandeur of his fame. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I. 

1. The word " Amerind " is a composite of the words 
American and Indian to denote all the Indians on the Ameri- 
can hemisphere as distinguished from the natives of India 
and elsewhere. It was adapted by the well-known explorer 
and anthropologist, Major John W. Powell, founder and 
one-time director of the United States Bureau of Ethnology; 
other ethnologists have since made use of the word, believ- 
ing it to be " correct, convenient and comprehensively ex- 
pressive." See A History of Wilkes-Barre, Luzerne County, 
Pennsylvania (Wilkes-Barre, Penna., 1909), by Oscar Jewell 
Harvey, 1 :78. 

2. The name of Hiawatha is made famous in our literature 
by Longfellow in his poem " The Song of Hiawatha." Long- 
fellow based his poem on the distortion of the legend of 
Hiawatha, by Schoolcraft who, in his usual unreliable way, 
confused Hiawatha with Manabozho, a fantastic deity of the 
Ojibways; and thus by an historian's lack of scholarship, and 
the errors of a poet, " a grave Iroquois lawgiver of the fif- 
teenth century has become in modern literature an Ojibway 
demigod." The Term Indian Summer (Boston, 1902), by 
Albert Matthews, p. 46. See Note 4. 

3. A biographical sketch of St. Tammany or a monograph 
on the Tammany Societies would be incomplete without a 
brief reference to the Delaware Indians and their traditions. 
The first white settlers in Pennsylvania found the eastern part 
occupied by the Lenni-Lenape or Delaware Indians, the most 
numerous, powerful and exalted tribe of the eastern Algonquin 
confederacy and to whom special dignity and authority were 
assigned. Forty tribes, it is said, respected their command. 
The Delawares took first place as the " grandfathers " of the 
Algonquin family, and the associated tribes were called " chil- 
dren," " nephews," and " grandchildren." The proper tribal 
name of these Indians was and still is Lenape; they called 

53 



54 SAINT TAMMANY 

themselves Lenni-Lenape, meaning " true or manly men." 
The phrase, however, has been variously translated as " our 
men," " males of our kind," " Indian men," " the original or 
pure Indian," " the Indians of our tribe or nation," " peo- 
ple of the same nation," " men of our nation," " original or 
pure people," and " original people." As early as 1694, the 
name " Delaware " was applied to them, and by 1715 the ap- 
pellation had become firmly affixed. Heckewelder, in his 
History of the Indian Nations, says that he will remembers 
when " they [the Lenape] thought the whites had given the 
name ' Delaware ' in derision ; but they were reconciled to it 
on being told that it was the name of a great White Chief, 
Lord de La Warre. As they were fond of being named after 
distinguished men, they were rather pleased, considering it a 
compliment." 

The Lenape lived on the banks of the Delaware River in 
detached tribes under different sachems and occupied the en- 
tire valley from its source to its mouth, extending westward 
to the territory of the Susquehannock, and eastward over the 
entire area of New Jersey to the Hudson River. The 
" Nation," as the tribe was called, was divided into three clans 
or totems, each having its totemic symbol or device, through 
which it claimed a mystic descent: (1) The Minsi, Monsey, 
Munsee, Montheys, or Minisink, "The people of the stoney 
country " or " mountaineers," whose totemic sign or device 
was the wolf. They lived in the mountainous region at the 
headwaters of the Delaware, above the forks or junction of 
the Lehigh River. Their hunting ground swept over lands 
now embraced in three states, New York, New Jersey and 
Pennsylvania, and in the Minisink Plains a short distance 
above the Delaware Water Gap their principal fire was lo- 
cated. They were the most vigorous and warlike of the 
Lenape and excelled the other totems in numbers. (2) The 
Unami, Wonamey or Wanamie, " the people down the river," 
whose totemic sign or device was the turtle or tortoise. They 
occupied the territory on the right bank of the Delaware, ex- 
tending southward from the Lehigh Valley. This totem en- 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 55 

joyed a position of great dignity among the Lenape, for they 
shared with people of the old world the myth that a great 
tortoise, first of all created beings, bore the earth upon its 
back. Thus by their totem the Unami had precedence, and 
in time of peace their sachem or chief, wearing a diamond- 
marked wampum belt, was chief of the whole tribe. (3) The 
Unalachtigo, " people who live near the ocean " or " the tide- 
water people," whose totemic sign or device was the turkey. 
This tribe had its principal seat on the affluents of the Dela- 
ware River near the present site of the City of Wilmington. 

This proud and powerful nation once held undisputed sway 
over the eastern part of the American Continent, but some 
time prior to 1694 they were conquered by the Iroquois Con- 
federacy, or Five Nations, and reduced to a humiliating con- 
dition of political vassalage known as " women." In this 
state of subjection they occupied the unenviable position of 
non-combatants, were denied the privileges of bearing arms 
and engaging in warfare, and were under the constant super- 
vision of the Five Nations, who looked upon them with the 
utmost contempt. Although the exact date of their sub- 
jugation is unknown, various dates ranging from 1609 to 1725 
have been suggested; the minutes of a meeting of the Penn- 
sylvania Provincial Council, held on July 6, 1694, clearly indi- 
cate, however, that at that time the Delawares were under the 
domination of the Iroquois. The startling success of the Five 
Nations in their bitter struggle with the Delawares is readily 
traceable to the introduction of firearms among the Iroquois 
tribes, who dealt with the followers of Champlain and with 
the Dutch settlers in the upper Hudson and Mohawk valleys. 

In 1683 the tribe was already on the decline, its number 
in Pennsylvania being estimated at two thousand; the en- 
croachment of the whites gradually forced the Delawares 
westward, first to the Wyoming valley, then to western Penn- 
sylvania, and later to Ohio. From Ohio some migrated to 
Canada, while the main body removed to Indiana, thence to 
Missouri and later to Kansas ; and in 1866 the remnant set- 
tled in Indian Territory, where they now share a reservation 



56 SAINT TAMMANY 

with the Cherokee Nation. Here the tribal bonds are slowly 
dissolving and the tribe is gradually losing its identity. 

See : Harvey as cited, 1 :78 et seq. The Lenape and their 
Legends ; with the complete Text and Symbols of the Walam 
Olum (Phila., 1885), by Daniel G. Brinton; The Indians of 
New Jersey; Their Origin and Development (Paterson, N. 
J., 1894), by William Nelson; A History of the Delaware 
Indians (Printed by Congress, 1906), by Richard C. Adams; 
Report on Indians, taxed, and Indians not taxed, in the United 
States at the Eleventh Census, 1890 (Government Printing 
Office, 1894) ; Pennsylvania Colonial Records : 1 :447, II :469, 
510, 546, 557, 559, 599, 603, vi:697, vii:47.66; Pennsylvania 
Archives, First Series, XI :230, 299, 300 ; The Disease of the 
Scythians (Morbus Feminarum) and Certain Analogous 
Conditions (New York, 1882), by William A. Hammond; an 
Account of the History, Manners and Customs of the Indian 
Nations, who once Inhabited Pennsylvania and the Neigh- 
bouring States (Phila., 1819), by John G. B. Heckewelder. 

4. The Iroquois, " an island in the great ocean of the Al- 
gonquin tribes," occupied central and western New York. The 
confederacy was made up of the Mohawks, Onondagas, 
Senecas, Oneidas and Cayugas, and was organized about the 
middle of the 15th century. The founder of the league was 
Hi-a-watha (Da-ga-no-we-da), chief of the Onondaga Na- 
tion, " who was the incarnation of wisdom " and " whose 
power was equal to his intelligence." He long beheld with 
grief the evils that befell the Indian tribes through continual 
wars and accordingly elaborated a scheme for a vast confed- 
eration of Indian nations to insure universal peace. With a 
view to the realization of this ideal, he invited the chiefs and 
wise men of the five tribes to a peace conference on the north- 
ern shore of Lake Onondaga to discuss the terms and condi- 
tions of the compact that was to control their future des- 
tinies. After days of debate and deliberation, the confederacy 
of the Five Nations was formed and its first council-fire 
kindled. The federation was remarkable in construction and 
ideals and included in its scope the establishment of peace and 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 57 

amity among all tribes of men. To quote the historian 
Lossing : " The Iroquois Confederacy was a marvel, all 
things considered . . . and a practical example of an 
almost pure democracy most remarkably developed." In 
1729 the Tuscaroras, who had migrated northward from the 
Carolinas, were admitted as the sixth member of the league. 
Spurred on by a thirst for military glory and conquest, the 
Iroquois subdued all the Indian tribes from the Hudson to the 
Mississippi and from the great lakes to the Carolinas, enjoy- 
ing at the time of the discovery of America a complete hege- 
mony over this vast empire. 

See: Harvey as cited, 1:107 et seq.; League of the Iroquois 
(Rochester, N. Y., 1851), by Lewis H. Morgan; Iroquois 
Book of Rites (Phila., 1883), by Horatio Hale; Our Bar- 
barian Brethren, by Benson J. Lossing in Harper's Magazine, 
XL:804; Francis W. Halsey in the New York Times Satur- 
day Reviezv, June 7, 1902 ; History of the Five Indian Nations 
(London, 1755), by Cadwallader Colden. 

5. Tammany has been referred to in several works as Amer- 
ica's untutored Crichton (History of Tammany Hall, by Har- 
mon C. Westervelt, MS. in New York Public Library. The 
significance of this comparison, however, is not easy to divine, 
for the Crichton referred to undoubtedly was James Crichton, 
a Scotch scholar, linguist and poet, so skilled in dialectic and so 
amiable in character, that he became famed throughout Europe 
as the Admirable Crichton. He was the son of Robert Crich- 
ton, Lord Advocate of Scotland under Mary and James VI., 
and was born at Eliock, Dumfriesshire, in 1560. He received 
the degree of Bachelor of Arts from St. Salvator's College, 
St. Andrew's, in 1574, and the degree of Master of Arts in 
1575. So talented was he, and so wonderful was his memory, 
that he attracted attention wherever he appeared by the ex- 
tent and charm of his erudition. In his travels on the Conti- 
nent he met the Prince of Mantua, Vincenzo di Gorgaza, to 
whom he became companion and preceptor. On July 3, 1582, 
when only 22 years of age, he died at the hands of his pupil, 
the Prince, in a street brawl. The brilliance and popularity 



58 SAINT TAMMANY 

of the youthful scholar became his undoing, for the Prince, 
inflamed by jealousy, plotted Crichton's destruction and, dis- 
guised as a brigand, stabbed him to death. The alleged 
parallel between this intellectual prodigy and our aboriginal 
hero is not to be found in the reputed attributes of the two 
characters. 

See: Life of Crichton, by P. F. Tytler. 

Discovery of a Most Exquisite Jewel, by Sir Thomas Ur- 
quhart. 

The death of the Admirable Crichton, by Andrew Lang, 
Morning Post, London, February 25, 1910. 

Crichton, A Novel, by W. Harrison Ainsworth. 

Notices of Sir Robert Crichton of Cluny and his son James, 
by John Stuart, Pro. Soc. of Antiquaries, of Scotland, Vol. 
II (1885), pp. 103-118. 

Mr. Douglas Crichton in Pro. Soc. of Antiquaries, of Scot- 
land, 1909. 

6. Much difficulty is experienced in fixing the orthography 
of Indian names. Since the Indians themselves had little or 
no written language, accuracy in repetition was not assured 
by a fixed spelling, and the early settlers, who first transposed 
the names into their respective languages, were not endowed 
with those qualities incident to careful scholarship, which alone 
could have produced reasonably accurate interpretation of the 
Indian words. Moreover, it must be remembered that many 
times the same name comes to us through the media of differ- 
ent languages. Thus we may have an Indian name as it im- 
pressed the Dutch, the French, the Swedish, and the English 
settlers. And there is small wonder that we often fail to 
recognize a name in its various guises as the same appellation. 
The confusion is further heightened by the fact that Indian 
sachems frequently changed their names to fit especial occa- 
sions and by the carelessness of early writers in failing to 
recognize this custom. 

The name Tammany has appeared in various forms : in 
the body of the deed dated June 23, 1683 (see note 7), it 
takes the form " Tamanen," while the mark affixed to the 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 59 

indenture is described as that of " Tammanens." In the 
joint deed given by Tammany and Metamequan on the same 
day, the name is spelled " Tamanen " and the description of 
the mark is " Tamnen." And William Penn in his own hand- 
writing made the following endorsement on the back of the 
instrument : " Metamequam's and Tamanans conveyance to 
Proprietor and Governor" (Penna. Archives, First Series, 
1:65). On August 16, 1683, William Penn spelled the name 
"Tamene" (Works of Wm. Penn, London, 1782, IV:305). 
This despite the different interpretation of the name in the 
body of the joint deed of June 23, 1683, and his own use of the 
word as " Tamanan," in the endorsement on its back. In the 
deed dated June 15, 1692, the name is spelled " Taminent " 
(see note 11), while at a Council held in Philadelphia on July 
6, 1694, the name is recorded in the minutes as " Tamanee " 
(see note 12). In the body of the deed dated July 5, 1697, 
the name appears as " Taminy " (see note 13). Francis von 
A. Cabeen, in his article on the " Society of the Sons of Saint 
Tammany of Philadelphia" (Penna. Mag. of History and 
Biography, XXV:436), in speaking of this deed says: " He 
[Tammany] is described -ren the deed ... as the great 
sachem Tamaniens." This is obviously an error on the part 
of Cabeen, for in none of the deeds signed by Tammany does 
his name appear in the form " Tamaniens." 

In 1698 Gabriel Thomas wrote the name as " Temeny," and 
on December 24, 1771, the name appears as " Tamina " (see 
note 16). Since 1772 the name has been variously written 
as " Tamine " (History of Philadelphia, by Scharf and West- 
cott, Vol. 1:38), " Taimenend," " Tamend," " Teamonand " 
(MS. correspondence of Colonel George Morgan in the Li- 
brary of Congress), " Tamanend," " Tamenund," " Temania " 
(Mrs. Sarah D. Mowry: Proceedings of the Delaware County, 
Penna., Historical Society, 1 :77-80, " Tamenend," " Tam- 
anend," History of the Manners and Customs of the Indian 
Nations (Phila., 1819), by John G. B. Heckewelder, p. 300, 
" Temend " and " Tamany " (The Lenape and their Legends, 
by D. G. Brinton, pp. 41, 117, 251), " Tamenay " (The Last of 



60 SAINT TAMMANY 

the Mohicans, Boston, 1876, by James Fenimore Cooper, p. 
350), and finally we have it in its present form, " Tammany." 
Heckewelder spells the name " Tamanend " and gives its 
significance as " Affable." John D. Prince, Professor of Semitic 
Languages, at Columbia University, however, differs from 
Heckewelder, and in a letter to the author, dated August 10, 
1910, says : " Tammany was in its original form Tamenend 
or Tamenund, the vowels being rather indeterminate in Dela- 
ware, and consequently a, e, or u, being practically equivalent 
to a short ^-pronunciation. The meaning is given by Hecke- 
welder as ' affable,' but I fail to see how this can be so, as he 
evidently connects the word with the Delaware word for 
Beaver, ' tamakwi,' and translates it ' beaver-like,' and con- 
strues this to mean ' affable.' There is an Algonquin stem 
which appears in the Natick (Mass.) kindred dialect to Dela- 
ware, as tummuhouau ' he is worthy, deserving,' the same stem 
appearing in the word kut-tamhouan-ganooash ' your deserts ' 
and also in the form at-tumunmim ' he receives, deserves it/ 
I believe that the Delaware Tamenend, Tamenund, Temenend 
is a participial form ending m-nt, the regular ending in Dela- 
ware, from the stem tame ' deserve ' or ' receive,' and that 
the name means ' the deserving ' or ' worthy one,' a very ap- 
propriate designation for an Indian chief of the importance 
of the original Tammany." 

Tammany as a Proper Name. 

I. As a Gens or Family Name. 

Directory of the City of New York : 

1801-1802: JohnTameney. 

1850-1851: John Taminey; Francis Tammany. 

1852-1853 : Francis Tammony. 

1854-1855: Michael Tamany. 

1866: Ferdinand Tamhayne; Patrick Tamney. 

1903 : Peter F. Tamoney. 

1865-1913: Tammany. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 61 

The pension rolls of the United States show the names : 

(1) Joseph Tammany, born in Tyrone, Ireland, November 

I, 1839, now residing in South Norwalk, Conn. Query: How 
did " Tammany " become a family name in Ireland as early 
as 1839? 

(2) James Tammany, born at Harrisburg, Penna., August 

II, 1844, now residing at Cleveland, Minn. 

II. As a Place Name. 

Tamenend, Schuyler County, Penna. 

Tamanend, Rush Township, Schuylkill County, Penna. 

Tammanytown, Juniata County, Penna. 

Tammany, Mecklenburg, Penna. 

Tammany Hill, Newport, Rhode Island. 

Mount Tammany, Williamsport, Maryland. 

Mount Tammany, New Jersey (opposite Delaware Water 
Gap). 

St. Tammany Parish, Covington County, Louisiana. 

St. Tammany, Louisiana ("The origin of the name there 
is due to the fact that a great number of Indians lived in the 
Parish at the time it was organized." — New Orleans Democrat, 
August, 1910. We venture to say, however, that the origin 
may be traced to the migration of a band of Delaware Indians 
to upper Louisiana, now Missouri, in 1697, or to the sugges- 
tion of John Pintard, who, prior to the Louisiana purchase, 
visited that region and made an extended report to Thomas 
Jefferson). 

St. Tammany Flats, St. Tammany School, Damascus Town- 
ship, Wayne County, Penna. 

Fort Saint Tammany, an early fort, St. Mary's, Camden 
County, Georgia. 

Tammany Street (later changed to Buttonwood), Philadel- 
phia, Penna. 

" There are no forts, places, towns, etc., under this name in 
this department." — Department of the Interior, U. S., Novem- 
ber 30, 1910; War Department, U. S., November 28, 1910. 



62 SAINT TAMMANY 

" The frontier forts of Pennsylvania and the Colonial 
Records do not mention a fort named Tammany." — Letter 
dated December 5, 1910, from T. L. Montgomery, Pennsyl- 
vania State Librarian. 

" The records of this office do not show that there are at 
this time or ever have been any post offices or stations of 
the name of Tammany. There is, however, a post office 
named Saint Tammany in St. Tammany Parish, La." — Let- 
ter dated December 3, 1910, from U. S. Postmaster-General. 

III. As the Title of Publications. 

St. Tammany Farmer, a newspaper published, 1913, at 
Covington, Parish of St. Tammany, La. 

St. Tammany Magazine, New York City, 1821-1823. 

Tammany Times, a weekly paper, New York City, 1893 to 
date. 

Father Tammany's Almanack, Phila., 1786-1812. 

New St. Tammany's Almanac, Phila., 1819-1824. 

IV. As the Name of Clubs, Corporations and Associations. 

St. Tammany Fire Company, Philadelphia, Penna., 1784. 

St. Tammany Fishing Club, Philadelphia, Penna. 

St. Tammany Water Works, New Orleans, La., 1887. 

St. Tammany Club (May Party Club, Jersey City, N. J.), 
Evening Journal, May, 1908. 

St. Tammany Lodge, No. 83, Order of Freemasons, Ack- 
lake (now Milanville), Wayne Co., Penna., June 24, 1800- 
August 2, 1828. 

St. Tammany Circuit, Methodist- Episcopal Church, Acklake, 
Galilee and Conklin Hill, Wayne Co., Penna., 1800. 

St. Tammany Lodge, No. 2139, Knights of Honor, Callicoon, 
New York, April 3, 1880. 

St. Tammany Chapter No. 492, Order of the Eastern Star, 
Callicoon, New York, organized 1910, installed November 9, 
1911. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 63 

Tammany Club, Boston, Mass., 1910. 

Tammanee Social Club (colored), Jersey City, N. J., 1912. 

Tammany Publishing Co., New York City, 1913. 

V. As the Name of Vessels, Inns, Hotels and Places of 

Amusement. 

Brig King Tammany, July 5, 1786. 

Ship St. Tammany, James River, Va., May 5, 1779. 

St. Tammany's Wigwam, inn kept by George Sorell, 1786, 
Philadelphia, Penna. 

Sign of St. Tammany, inn kept by John Barker, 1785, 
Philadelphia, Penna. 

Tammany Theatre (The Alhambra Palace), Irving Place 
and 14th Street, New York City. 

Tammany Hotel, 133 Eighth Avenue, New York City ; Tam- 
many Hotel, part of Tammany Hall prior to 1865. 

Tamney House, New Paltz, N. Y., 1912. 

Tammany Hall, New York City, 1815 to date. 

VI. As the Name of a Race Horse. 
Tammany, a race horse, owned by Marcus Daly, 1892. 

VII. References to Tammany as a Proper Name. 

Brackenridge, H. M., ''Views of Louisiana" (Baltimore, 
1817), p. 28. 

Buck, Wm. J., " Tammany," Doylestown (Penna.) Demo- 
crat, May 6, 1856. 

Cabeen, Francis von A. The Society of the Sons of Saint 
Tammany of Philadelphia, Penna. Mag. of History and 
Biography, XXV :453, et seq. 

Curtis, Charles T., " St. Tammany at Cochecton," Sullivan 
County Democrat, Cochecton, New York, February 25, 1913. 

Freeman's Journal, Philadelphia, September 29, 3/1, 1784. 

Goodrich, Phineas G. " History of Wayne County, Penna." 
(Honesdale, Penna., 1880). 

Jersey City (N. J.) Evening Journal, May, 1908. 

Kilroe, R. Anna J., " Tamanend or St. Tammany in Wayne 



64 SAINT TAMMANY 

County; A Myth of our County History," Wayne Independ- 
ent, Honesdale, Penna., November 22, 1911. 

Louisiana Statutes, April 14, 1811. Act establishing Parish 
of St. Tammany; March 25, 1813. Act establishing a seat 
of Justice in Parish of St.* Tammany. 

Massachusetts Centinel, July 5, 1786. 

Mathews, Alfred. " History of Wayne, Pike and Monroe 
Counties, Penna." (Phila., 1886), p. 4. 

Mercer, Henry G. " The Grave of Tamanend." Magazine 
of American History, Vol. XXIX, No. 3, March, 1893, pp. 255- 
261; Bucks County (Penna.) Historical Society papers, II., 
58-66. 

Mowry, Mrs. Sarah D. " Temanend, Chief of the Lenni- 
Lenapes." Bucks County (Penna.) Historical Society papers, 
11:558-594; " The Patron Saint of the American Revolution." 
Proceedings of the Delaware County (Penna.) Historical So- 
ciety, 1 :77-80. 

New Jersey Gazette, May 5, 1779. 

New Orleans Democrat, Aug., 1910. 

New York City Directory, 1801-1913. 

New York City Telephone Directory, 1894-1913. 

New York Herald, July 3, 18/1, 1892. 

Penna. Law Reports, 158:545. 

Philadelphia City Directory, 1785. 

Quinlan, James E., " History of Sullivan County, New 
York" (Liberty, N. Y., 1873), pp. 104, 183, 205. 

Scharf, Thomas J., " History of Delaware" (Phila., 1888), 
1:21. 

Sullivan County Democrat (Callicoon, New York), Novem- 
ber 4, 1911. 

United States Supreme Court Reports, 120 :64 

Watts (Penna.) Law Reports, 9:353. 

Wayne Independent (Honesdale, Penna.), Sept. 18, 1912. 

Westcott Thompson and Thomas J. Scharf, " History of 
Philadelphia" (Phila., 1884), 1:38. 

7. Pennsylvania Archives (First Series), 1:62. 

8. Ibid., p. 64. 

9. Ibid., p. 65. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 65 

10. Select Works of Wm. Penn (London, 1782), IV :305. 

11. Pennsylvania Archives, First Series, 1:116. 

12. Pennsylvania Colonial Records, 1 :447. 

13. Pennsylvania Archives, First Series, 1:124. This deed 
was dated July 5, 1697, and was acknowledged on July 6, 1697. 
Cabeen (as cited, p. 435), says: " In this deed he was desig- 
nated as the Great Sachem Taminent . . . We see 
that between the first record that we have of him in 1683 and 
the last in 1697, he must have impressed himself strongly upon 
not only the community, but also upon the officials of the pro- 
vincial government, for in the last account he is described in 
the deed, which of course was written by the English, as the 
Great Sachem Tamaniens, and no other Indian is so described ; 
so to have acquired the right to such a title he must have had 
a large part of the attributes described to him." Cabeen, how- 
ever, cites no authority for this statement and perhaps bases 
it on the erroneous idea that " sachimack " implies a higher 
title than " sachem." " Sachimack," a form peculiar to the 
Delaware Indians, is one of the various forms in which the 
word " sachem " is found in the early writings. In fact, the 
form appears in the first deed from the Delaware Indians to 
William Penn, dated July 15, 1682 (Penna. Archives, First 
Series, 1:47). Cabeen's statement that " no other Indian is 
so described " is true if it applies only to the deed of July 5, 
1697; if, however, the statement means that Tammany was 
the only Indian ever described as " sachimack," and that the 
term means Great Sachem, he falls into serious error; for 
it is a well-established fact that the form " Sachimack " was 
frequently used by the English in Pennsylvania until the year 
1700, and that after that date the form " Sachem " is com- 
monly found. The latter form was also in use between 1690 
and 1694. (Penna. Archives, 1:46-49, 65-66, 92, 95, 133, 
134; Penna. Colonial Records, 1:334, 448, 453.) It is not 
unlikely, however, that Cabeen relies on the following sentence 
from Sherman Day (Historical Collections of the State of 
Pennsylvania, p. 299, note 5) : "In 1697, he by the name 
of Great Sachem Taminent with his brother and sons signed 



66 SAINT TAMMANY 

another deed for lands between Pemmopeck and Neshaminy 
Creeks " ; or he may have given credence to Wm. J. Buck, who 
in an article in the Doylestown, Pa., Democrat, May 6, 1856, 
entitled " Tammany," states, " From the purchase of 1697, as 
just mentioned, the conveyance is endorsed from the Great 
Sachem Taminent, by which it is evident that he was superior 
to any of the others." Both statements are palpably untrue; 
for in none of the deeds to William Penn, either in the body 
of the instrument or in the endorsement on it, is Tammany 
described as Great Sachem; in the deed of June 15, 1692, he 
affixed his mark as King " Taminent." The deed bears the 
endorsement " Indians conveyance of all the Land between 
Nashaminah & Poquessing (Penna. Archives, First Series, 
1 :1 16). In the deed of July 5, 1697, Tammany affixed his mark 
as King Tamany and the instrument is endorsed : " Deed, 
Tamany and his Brother and Sons to Governor Penn, for 
Lands between Pemmapeck & Neshamineh " (Penna. Ar- 
chives, First Series, 1 :125. 

14. Penna. Archives, First Series, 1 :47. 

15. Ancient Society (New York, 1878), by Lewis H. 
Morgan, p. 530. 

16. A historical and geographical account of the Province 
and County of Pennsylvania and of West New Jersey in 
America (London, 1698), by Gabriel Thomas, p. 15. 

17. A portrait of Tammany was conspicuously displayed by 
the Society of the Sons of Saint Tammany of Philadelphia at 
all its later celebrations. On May 1, 1783, " the portraiture of 
our true old saint with this well known motto ' Kawanio chee 
Keteru ' " was displayed at the head of the banquet cabin ; and 
at the celebration of May 1, 1785, " the flag of the United 
States ornamented with a fine figure of St. Tammany drawn 
by Mr. Wright was displayed in the centre," and at the re- 
ception tendered to Cornplanter, April, 1786, " On the ar- 
rival of the Chief at the Wigwam, a salute of cannon was 
given by the Sachems and the Colours of the State and Saint 
Tammany with the Dutch and French standards, and the Buck 
Flag, were immediately displayed . . . the Indian Chief 



XOTES TO CHAPTER I 67 

. . . pointing to the portrait of St. Tammany on the 
Colors." A few weeks later at the annual celebration held 
on May 1, 1786, " The standard of St. Tammany was displayed, 
supported on the right by the flag of France, and on the left 
by that of the United States of Holland. At the same time 
the Buck flag was displayed at the council chambers." The 
Buck's flag was the flag of a volunteer military company that 
usually attended the feasts of the Sons of St. Tammany. 
This display of the portrait of St. Tammany on the National 
and on the Society's colors may have given rise to the tradi- 
tion that during the Revolution the Pennsylvania troops car- 
ried a flag that bore the portrait of St. Tammany. In 1821 a 
bust of Saint Tammany was adopted for the figure-head of the 
ship-of-the-line Delaware that plied on the upper Susquehanna 
River. See Freeman's Journal, May 3, 1783; May 2, 1785; 
Independent, April 22, 1786; Penna. Evening Herald, May 6, 
1786; Wyoming Herald (Wilkes-Barre, Penna.), February 
9, 1821. 

18. A Brief Account of the Origin and Progress of the 
Tammany Society (New York, 1838), p. 1. While this state- 
ment is attributed to Penn, a careful examination of Penn's 
accessible works fails to locate the quotation. 

19. " The Last of the Mohicans," by J. Fenimore Cooper 
(New York, 1850), II. Chap. 28: " I am Tamanend of many 
days," says the chief in the story, to emphasize the author's 
idea of the great age of Tammany, and the phrase has been 
copied by subsequent writers as part of an authentic soliloquy. 

20. Harvey as cited, 1:40, 113. 

21. Penna. Colonial and Federal, 1:286. Voltaire said 
of this treaty that it " was the only treaty ever made without 
an oath and the only one kept inviolate." Sherman Day, as 
cited, pp. 299-300. 

22. At this meeting Tammany is said to have given Wm. 
Penn a wampum belt of peace, which is still preserved in the 
Historical Society of Pennsylvania. (Harvey as cited, 1:113.) 
And to commemorate the event Penn is said to have placed 
three white balls on his coat of arms to represent the three 



68 SAINT TAMMANY 

dumplings which Tammany cooked for him under the Great 
Elm at the conclusion of the Conference (The Grave of Tam- 
anend, by Henry C. Mercer, Bucks County, Penna., Historical 
Society Papers, 11:63). 

23. Letter to the author, dated March 10, 1909, in which 
Mr. Adams writes : " There is very little outside of Hecke- 
welder's reports that I have found in print regarding ' Tam- 
anend.' Our people, the Delaware Indians, however, have 
many traditions regarding him. He was sachem of the Dela- 
wares and is supposed to have lived about the place where Wil- 
mington now stands early in the sixteenth century. He was 
highly reverenced by the Delawares and others who knew him. 
He is credited with having saved Manhattan and New York 
City from the English invasion by his warning the New York 
Indians who were camping on the upper end of Long Island 
at the time the attack was made. Although he took no part 
in this attack, his warning to the New York Indians was suf- 
ficient to keep them from aiding the English, and for that rea- 
son it is claimed that the ' Tamanend Society ' was organized 
after that. It was the great Delaware Chief ' Tamenend,' 
who made the famous treaty with William Penn in 1662, 
famous in the school books of our childhood, as the only In- 
dian Treaty which was never sworn to, and the only one which 
was never broken. In the rotunda of the National Capitol 
may be seen the historical fresco representing this notable 
event. 

" I have a large number of manuscripts unpublished relat- 
ing to tales and legends in regard to this chief." 

The only recorded incident to which Mr. Adams could possi- 
bly refer, is that discussed in the Pennsylvania Provincial Coun- 
cil, July 6, 1694 (see page 17). This, it will be remembered, 
was a proposed attack on the French by the Senecas, in which 
the Delawares were invited to participate, and not an attack 
by the English as suggested in the excerpt quoted. Mr. 
Adams, a lineal descendant of the famous Captain White 
Eyes, is the author of a history of the Delaware Indians. 

24. " William Penn visited King Tammany at Perkasie." — 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 69 

Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, VIII :206. A History 
of the Schuylkill Fishing Company of the State in Schuylkill 
(Phila., 1889). 

25. A Brief Account of the Origin and Progress of the 
Tammany Society (New York, 1838), p. 3. The History of 
the Tammany Society or Columbian Order (New York, 1867), 
by R. G. Horton, Chap. I, p. 10. History of Tammany Hall 
(New York, 1901), by Gustavus Myers, p. 2. History of 
the Tammany Society or Columbian Order (New York, 1901), 
by E. V. Blake, p. 12. 

26. Col. George Morgan was appointed Indian agent for 
the Middle Department by the Indian Commissioners and de- 
tailed to Fort Pitt, now Pittsburgh, prior to April 10, 1776. 
H. Giles Morgan, Jr., a lineal descendant, in a letter to the 
author dated January 29, 1910, says, " Before setting out to 
his new field of usefulness, however, he was the recipient of 
a very pretty compliment from the Eastern tribe of the Dela- 
ware Indians. At his splendid estate ' Prospect/ the site of 
which is now occupied by the official residence of the Presi- 
dent of Princeton College, the Delawares gathered and solemn- 
ly conferred upon him the name of Tamenand or Tamene, 
signifying the ' affable ' The Indians stated that 
they had conferred it upon Col. George Morgan because he 
was the first man they had found worthy to bear it." 

There is no authentic date to show when and why such an 
honor was bestowed upon Morgan. The earliest reference 
to this designation is a communication by him entitled " The 
United American States to their Brethren, the Delawares in 
Council," dated at Fort Pitt, March 6, 1777, in which Morgan 
signs himself " Taimenend." He requests the Delawares to 
see the Windots and the Mingos and induce them to come to 
him for a conference, adding : " To assist you in this good 
Work I send you thousand white & ten thousand black 
Wampum." On June 9, 1778, the Delaware Council at 
Coochocking addressed a message to Morgan as " Brother 
Tamenend " ; while a letter from Captain John Kilbuck, dated 
at Carlisle, Penna., April 27, 1779, contains the salutation to 



70 SAINT TAMMANY 

" Brother Tamend " and extends the writer's " Compli- 
ments to you my Brother tamenend." A chief called Kaylale- 
mont, on August 3, 1783, wrote from Pittsburgh to " Team- 
onand," addressing him as " Brother " and complaining that 
the government had failed to pay the rewards and bounties 
promised by the Colonel. These references, taken from the 
Morgan Manuscripts in the Library of Congress, permit of 
some doubt as to whether the sobriquet was conferred upon 
Colonel Morgan or merely assumed by him. 

The custom of conferring the names of their great men 
upon their influential white neighbors was not an unusual 
characteristic of Indian diplomacy. Governor Colden of New 
York was thus honored by the Five Nations. Although the 
wily redskins desired him to believe this a mark of respect, 
the Governor " suspected they did it for rum for their bellies." 
In February, 1790, the Oneidas conferred upon the Grand 
Sachem of the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order of 
New York, the title " Odgaht-Seghte," brone by their first 
sachem. In August of the same year, the Creeks also honored 
the Grand Sachem of the same Society with the name " Tulma 
Mica," " Chief of the White Town." 

The Weekly Museum, February 20, 3/2, 1790; New York 
Journal, August 10, 1790; Journals of Continental Congress 
(Ford), April 10, 1776, IV:268; Penna. Archives, VII. (June 
9, July 19, 1778), 587, 652, 714; Publications of the La. Hist. 
Society, Vol. V (1911), pp. 54-56. 

27. An oration on the three hundred and eighteenth anni- 
versary of the discovery of America, delivered before the 
Tammany Society, or Columbian Order, in the County of 
Rensselaer, and State of New York, with a traditional ac- 
count of the life of Tammany, an Indian Chief (Troy, New 
York, 1809), by Wm. L. Marcy. 

28. A lodge of Free Masons established there in 1800 was 
called St. Tammany Lodge No. 83. In the same year the 
Methodist Episcopal Church established a circuit, embracing 
Acklake, Galilee, and Conklin Hill, Wayne County, Penna., 
known as St. Tammany's circuit. On April 3, 1880, St. Tarn- 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 71 

many Lodge No. 2139 of the Knights of Honor was organized 
at Callicoon, on the New York side of the Delaware River, 
directly opposite St. Tammany's Flats; and on November 10, 
1911, St. Tammany Chapter No. 492, Order of the Eastern 
Star, was installed in the same town. The old homestead of 
Daniel Skinner is still called St. Tammany's Flats. 

29. The traditions of the locality would indicate, however, 
that Skinner received his information from a band of friendly 
Indians of the Munsey clan who, at the time, wandered up 
and down the upper Delaware under the leadership of Chief 
Minatto. St. Tammany at Cochecton, by Charles T. Curtis, 
Sullivan County Democrat (Cochecton, New York), Febru- 
ary 25, 1913. 

30. " There is some tradition existing that King Tamanend 
once had his cabin and residence on the meadow near the 
Ridge road, situated under a great elm tree on Francis' farm." 
Register of Pennsylvania (Phila., 1831). Edited by Samuel 
Hazard, VII:349; Annals of Philadelphia (Phila., 1850), 
by John F. Watson, 11:172. 

31. References to the Grave of Tammany: 

Blake, E. Vale. " History of the Tammany Society or Co- 
lumbian Order" (New York, 1901), p. 12. 

Buck, W. J. " Tammany." Doylestown (Penna.) Demo- 
crat, May 6, 1856. 

Davis, W. H. " History of Bucks County, Penna." (Doyles- 
town, Penna., 1876), p. 83. 

Day, Sherman. "Penna. Historical Collection" (Phila., 
1843), p. 163. 

Home, Rufus. " The Story of Tammany," Harper's Maga- 
zine (April, 1872), XLIV:685. 

Horton, R. G. " History of the Tammany Society or Co- 
lumbian Order" (New York, 1867), Chapter I, p. 10. 

Marcy, Wra. L. " An oration on the Three hundred and 
eighteenth anniversary of the discovery of America, delivered 
before the Tammany Society, or Columbian Order, in the 
County of Rensselaer, and State of New York, with a tra- 



72 SAINT TAMMANY 

ditional account of the life of Tammany, an Indian Chief " 
(Troy, New York, 1809). 

Mercer, Henry C. " The Grave of Tamanend," Mag. of 
Am. History, XXIX (March, 1893), p. 255; Bucks County 
(Penna.) Historical Society Papers, 11:58. 

Meyers, Gustavus. " The History of Tammany Hall " 
(New York, 1901), p. 2. 

Mitchill, S. L. " The Life, Exploits, and Precepts of Tam- 
many, the Famous Indian Chief " (New York, 1795). 

Mowry, Mrs. Sarah D. " Temanend, Chief of the Lenni- 
Lenapes," Bucks County (Penna.) Historical Society Papers, 
II :588-594. " The Patron Saint of the American Revolution," 
Proceedings of the Delaware County (Penna.) Historical 
Society, 1:77-80. 

New York Evening Mail, September 28, 1911. 

New York Evening World, September 28, 1911. 

Register of Pennsylvania (Edited by Samuel Hazard, 
Phila., May 28, 1831), VII :349. 

Rogers, Jno. P. " The Traditions of Tammany, the Hero 
of the Hill." Doylestown (Penna.), Democrat, July 18, 1871. 

32. The Life, Exploits and Precepts of Tammany, the 
Famous Indian Chief (New York, 1795), by Samuel L. 
Mitchill. See note 90. 

33. The Grave of Tamanend, by Henry C. Mercer, Mag. 
of Am. History, XXIX (March, 1893), p. 255. Bucks County 
(Penna.) Historical Society Papers, 11:58. 

34. " Temanend, Chief of the Lenni-Lenapes," by Mrs. 
Sarah D. Mowry. Bucks County (Penna.), Historical So- 
ciety Papers, 11:588-594; " The Patron Saint of the Ameri- 
can Revolution," by Mrs. Sarah D. Mowry. Proceedings of 
the Delaware County (Penna.) Historical Society, 1:77-80; 
Historical Collections of the State of Pennsylvania (Phila., 
1843), pp. 163, 299, 300. 

35. Sherman Day, as cited, pp. 299-300, says : " Such was 
his chagrin at being thus deserted by his followers, and his 
mortification at not being able to attend the treaty, that he 
attempted to set fire to his wigwam but, frustrated in that 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 73 

attempt, he sent his faithful daughter to the spring for some 
water and, during her absence, plunged his knife into his own 
heart and expired." 

36. It is probable that the story of Tammany's death is bor- 
rowed bodily from the facts surrounding the death of 
Teedyuscung, a later Delaware Chief. Teedyuscung, the son 
of " Old Captain Harris," was born near Trenton, N. J., in 
1706, and in 1730 migrated to Pennsylvania, where he came 
into close contact with the Christian missionaries, who referred 
to him as " Honest John." He embraced the Christian faith 
and was given the name " Gideon." The event is recorded by 
Bishop Cammerhof t in his diary in the following unique way : 
" 1750, March 12th. Today I baptized Tatiuskundt, the chief 
among sinners." The death of Sassoonan or Allummapees at 
Shamokin, Pa., in October, 1747, left the Eastern Delawares 
without a chief ; Teedyuscung, who was " counselor " to his 
clan, gradually usurped the power and prestige of " King," 
and in 1755 assumed the leadership of the Nation. He was 
renowned for his diplomacy, oratory and martial prowess, but 
was an inveterate drinker, being able to " drink a gallon of 
rum a day without being drunk." His offensive vanity, in- 
temperance and uncontrollable passions caused him serious 
embarrassment and lessened his influence both with his own 
people and with the whites. Through his own carelessness, 
while in a drunken stupor, he was burned to death in his log 
house in the village of Wyoming, Penna., on April 19, 1763. 
The death of Teedyuscung marked the passing of the Delaware 
chiefs in the East. See Harvey as cited, 1 :308. The Indians of 
New Jersey: their Origin and Development (Paterson, N. J., 
1894), by William Nelson, p. 94. 

37. The Wilderness Trail (New York, 1911), by Charles 
A. Hanna, 1:100; Archives of Maryland; Proceedings of the 
Council of Maryland, 1696-97-98; 427-429; 1698-1731, 104, 
106. 

38. Hanna as cited, 1 :98. An Indian Chief named We- 
queala, living near Freehold, N. J., was hanged at Perth Am- 
boy, June 30, 1727, for the murder of Captain John Leonard 



74 SAINT TAMMANY 

of that town. An interesting inquiry is suggested by the 
question : Is " Wequeala " another form of spelling for 
" Owechela," who, as already indicated, has been identified by 
Professor Gus, as Weheeland, the brother of Tammany? 

American Weekly Mercury, Phila., July 6, 1727; Nelson, as 
cited, p. 148. 

39. Hanna as cited, 1:101; Pennsylvania Colonial Records, 
VII :726. 

40. " Negotiations have been closed for the purchase of the 
site of the grave of Tamanend or Tammany, the chief of the 
Lenni-Lenape Indians in New Britain township." New York 
Evening World, September 28, 1911; "A half century ago 
stones marking the graves were removed and built into the 
wall of a barn. These stones will probably form part of a 
monument to be erected over the grave." New York Evening 
Mail, September 28, 1911. 

41. The erection of the monument was delayed several years 
because of the difficulty in securing control of the spot from 
the owner of the land. A recent change in ownership, how- 
ever, has obviated this difficulty. Letter dated January 24, 
1911, from Warren S. Ely, Librarian and Curator of the 
Bucks County (Penna.) Historical Society. 

42. " Kawanio Che Keeteru, a true relation of a bloody bat- 
tle fought between George and Lewis in the year 1755." 
Printed in the year MDCCLVI. By Nicholas Scull. The 
words "are very expressive of a Hero relying on God to bless 
his endeavors in protecting what he has put under his care. 
To form some idea of its significance you may imagine a man 
with his wife and children about him, with an air of resolution 
calling out to his Enemy, all these God has given me, and I 
will defend them:' Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, 
VIII:213. 

43. Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, XXV:437. 
American Antiquarian, January, 1886. 

44. Penna Mag. of History and Biography, VIII: 199. 

45. Independent (Phila.), May 3, 1783. 

46. These words were first used by W. L. Marcy in a speech 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 75 

before the Tammany Society of Troy, October 12, 1809, and 
have been copied by subsequent writers. See note 27. 

47. The Indians also tattooed the device on their bodies. The 
Lenape and their Legends (Phila., 1885), by Daniel G. Brinton. 
The Indians of New Jersey (Paterson, N. J., 1894), by Wil- 
liam Nelson. 

48. In 1885 Dr. Daniel G. Brinton accurately reproduced for 
the first time both the figures and the text and published them 
under the title, " The Lenape and their Legends with the com- 
plete text and symbols of the Walam Olum, a new transla- 
tion, and an inquiry into its authenticity." Brinton gave the 
text careful study and discusses at length its history as out- 
lined by Schmaltz, and concludes that it was not a forgery but 
a " genuine native production, which was repeated orally to 
some one indifferently conversant with the Delaware language, 
who wrote it down to the best of his ability." 

49. The Lenape and their Legends (Phila., 1885), by D. G. 
Brinton, pp. 196, 197, 210, 211. 

50. This period was arbitrarily selected by Nelson in his 
Indians of New Jersey, and has been adopted by the author 
as representing the average reign of the Delaware Chiefs in 
the last two centuries. 

51. It is to be observed that of the eighty-four chiefs named 
(10 of the 94 that ruled are not named) in the Walam Olum, 
Tamenend is the only name that recurs. In no other instance 
has a chief received the name of a predecessor, nor does this 
practice appear in the history of any other tribe of American 
Indians. 

52. Brinton as cited, p. 165. 

53. Letters from America: Historical and descriptive; 
comprising occurrences from 1769-1777 inclusive (London, 
1792), p. 114. This letter is quoted in full in Chapter II, 
page 85. 

54. Ebenezer Hazard was born in Philadelphia, January 15, 
1744, and was graduated from Princeton in 1762. He was a 
renowned classical scholar, an antiquary and a patriot. The 
Continental Congress appointed him first postmaster of New 



76 SAINT TAMMANY 

York City, and on January 28, 1782, he became Postmaster- 
General. He was a corresponding member of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society, a trustee of the Wall Street (Presby- 
terian) Church, a member of the New York Society Library, 
and one of the founders of the North American Insurance 
Company. Jeremy Belknap, D.D., was born in Boston, June 
4, 1744, and died June 4, 1798. He was graduated from Har- 
vard in 1762 and became the first president of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society in 1791. 

55. Belknap papers, Part I, p. 335. 

56. Belknap papers, Part I, p. 363. 

57. In 1789 the date of the celebration was changed from 
the first of May old style to May 12 new style, indicating that 
the celebration may have been as early as 1752, when the 
change in computing time took place. See Chap. Ill, page 125. 

58. Letter dated December 3, 1909, to Sir James Murray. 

59. Aurora, Philadelphia, May 14, 1808. 

60. The anonymous author evidently had in mind the ob- 
jections raised against the Order of the Cincinnati at the time 
it was established, in 1783, and confused them with the events 
that led to the establishment of the Tammany Societies at 
least a dozen years before that date ; Trumbull played no part 
in the formation of these societies and had nothing to do with 
the selection of their patron. 

61. The History of the Tammany Society or Columbian 
Order (New York, 1867), Chapter II, p. 1. Harmon C. Wes- 
tervelt, writing a few years later (History of Tammany Hall, 
1789-1832, manuscript in the New York Public Library), 
makes the bold assertion : " The Saintship having been con- 
ferred on the Society by John Trumbull." 

62. John Trumbull, Timothy Dwight and Joel Barlow were 
known as the " Hartford Wits." 

63. See Chapter II, Note 50. 

64. " M'Fingal a modern epic poem," was not published 
until late in the year 1775, at least four years after the canon- 
ization of Tammany. 

65. The anonymous author has composed in a single title 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 77 

the titles of three works written by different authors, namely : 
(1) " M'Fingal a modern epic poem," written by John Trum- 
bull and published at Philadelphia in 1775 ; (2) " The death of 
General Montgomery, in storming the City of Quebec, a 
tragedy, with an Ode, in honor of the Pennsylvania Militia 
. . . who sustained the campaign, in the depth of winter, 
January, 1777, and repulsed the British forces from the banks 
of the Delaware. By the author of a dramatic piece, on the 
Battle of Bunker Hill [anon.] To which are added Elegiac 
pieces, commemorative of distinguished characters. By dif- 
ferent gentlemen — Philadelphia," written by PI ugh Henry 
Breckenridge, and published at Philadelphia in 1777; and (3) 
" The Fall of British Tyranny or American Liberty Triumph- 
ant," written by John Leacock, and published at Philadelphia in 
1776. 

66. John Leacock was born in 1729 and dwelt, during an 
active and public-spirited career, in the city of Philadelphia. 
He devoted much of his time to the cultivation of the grape 
and to the scientific study and development of the vine. For 
this purpose he maintained a vineyard near Philadelphia and 
conducted a lottery to secure funds for the furtherance of the 
enterprise. He was an accomplished vocalist and was socially 
prominent, his activities including membership in the Schuyl- 
kill Fishing Company and in the Sons of St. Tammany, for 
whom he sang at their celebrations. His intense patriotism 
found expression in various songs and dramas, devoted to 
Revolutionary topics, which attracted much attention. From 
1785 to the time of his death, November 16, 1802, he was 
coroner of the city of Philadelphia. He was buried in the 
graveyard of Christ Church. 

67. In the early Colonial days the drama was frequently 
used as a vehicle for expressing political sentiments, and dur- 
ing the Revolution the dramatic form was continuously ap- 
plied to political pamphleteering; it is needless to add that 
most of the works of this character were published anonymous- 
ly. Breckenridge and Leacock both followed the cus- 
toms of the day, and " The Fall of British Tyranny " was 



78 SAINT TAMMANY 

sent to the press with the author's name lacking. Seilhamer 
(History of the American Theatre, Phila., 1888, by George O. 
Seilhamer, 11:12) comments on this fact in the following 
words : " It may be added, however, that it was probably be- 
cause it was dramatic in form, and, to some extent, in quality 
that the paternity of the piece was never acknowledged by its 
author." 

68. The poem was printed with this explanation : 

" The following humorous song, was solely intended for 
the American tragi-comedy entitled ' The Fall of British 
Tyranny, or American Liberty Triumphant ' of five acts, which 
is now in the press and will be published speedily. Having 
been favored with a sight of the manuscript and thinking it 
will suit extremely well for the first of May, the printer has 
prevailed upon the author to let him insert it in the Evening 
Post, on the eve of that day, for the entertainment of his 
jovial readers and Sons of American Liberty." 

69. Freeman's Journal, May 3, 1783; May 5, 1784; May 2, 
1785 ; New York Journal, May 19, 1792. 

70. In the comedy the song is introduced in the following 
dialogue between two shepherds, Dick and Rogers, on a plain 
near Lexington: 

" Dick — Roger, methinks I hear the sound of melody war- 
bling through the grove. Let's sit a while, and partake of it 
unseen. 

" Roger — With all my heart. ... This is the first of 
May; our shepherds and nymphs are celebrating our glorious 
St. Tammany's day ; we'll hear the song out and then join in the 
frolick, and chorus it o'er and o'er again. This day shall be 
devoted to joy and festivity." The Fall of British Tyranny, 
p. 35. 

71. See note 36. 

72. Leacock later wrote the following version of this poem, 
which he sang at the celebration of the Society on May 1, 
1783: 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 79 

" Song for St. Tammany's Day. 
The Old Song. 

I 

" Of Andrew, of Patrick, of David, and George, 
What mighty achievements we hear! 
Whilst no one relates great Tammany's feats, 
Although more heroic by far, my brave boys, 
Although more heroic by far. 

II 

" These heroes fought only as fancy inspir'd, 
As by their own stories we find; 
Whilst Tammany, he fought only to free, 
From cruel oppression mankind, my brave boys, 
From cruel oppression mankind. 

Ill 

" When our Country was young and our numbers were few, 
To our fathers his friendship was shown: 
(For he e'er would oppose whom he took for his foes) 
And made their misfortunes his own, my brave boys, 
And he made our misfortunes his own. 

IV 
" At length growing old and quite worn out with years, 
As history doth truly proclaim, 
His wigwam was fired, he nobly expired, 
And flew to the skies in a flame, my brave boys, 
And flew to the skies in a flame." 

Freeman's Journal, May 7, 1783 ; May 2, 1785 ; Massachusetts 
Centinel, May 18, 1785. 

73. " A Hudibrastic poem, parts of which would probably 
shock the fastidious ears of the present generation, was pub- 
lished at a very early period, in which their patron saint is 



80 SAINT TAMMANY 

extolled as far superior to all the renowned worthies of the 
old world." Horton as cited, Chapter I, p. 10. 

74. This is the oldest social club in existence. History of 
the Schuylkill Fishing Company of the State in Schuylkill 
(Phila., 1889). 

75. The influence of wealth in Imperial Rome (New York, 
1911), by Wra. S. Davis, p. 229. 

76. This was prior to 1747, when the Club presented to 
the Association Battery the gun with the words " Kawanio 
Che Keeteru " stamped on it. Penna. Mag. of History and 
Biography, VIII: 199. 

77. The Mount Regale Fishing Co., in existence in 1763, and 
the St. David Fishing Co. Penna. Mag. of History and 
Biography, XXVII :88. 

78. Pennsylvania Chronicle, May 4, 1772 (VI:63/2); May 
11, 1772 (VI:67/2). 

79. Pennsylvania Chronicle, June 15, 1772 (VI:85/1). Mr. 
Albert Matthews first called my attention to this reference. 

80. Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, XXV:446. 

81. Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, V:29, 30. 

82. Mrs. Sarah D. Mowry as cited, p. 592; The Tammany 
Societies of Rhode Island (Providence, R. I., 1897), by Mar- 
cus W. Jernegan, p. 10, note 4. Adams, in the letter cited 

(note 23), says: In the Revolutionary War the troops of the 
State of New York adopted the name of this Chief as their 
patron Saint, calling him " Tammany." This, indeed, is an 
error. Adams evidently intended to associate the story with 
the Pennsylvania troops. The New York Evening World 
in an editorial on September 28, 1911, stated: "There were 
apocryphal histories of Tammany even a hundred years ago, 
and these represented him as a friend of Washington and a 
veteran of the Revolution," and the Editor then facetiously 
remarked : " On this basis it ought to be easy to figure out 
pension claims for his descendants today." 

83. Savannah Republican in the Penna. Mag. of History 
and Biography, XXVI :458. 

84. Independent Gazetteer (Phila.), May 6, 1786. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 81 

85. Many of these poems are quoted in full by Cabeen in 
Pa. Mag. of History and Biography, XXV, p. 433, et seq. 

86. The poem was written by William Pritchard, a member 
of the Society and a well-known book-seller and owner of a 
circulating library at Philadelphia. The poem achieved great 
popularity and was widely reprinted in the journals of the 
day. It first appeared in the Pennsylvania Evening Herald, 
May 6, 1786, and later in the Massachusetts Centinel, May 17, 
1886; American Museum, Vol. V, January 1789, p. 104; Co- 
lumbian Muse, pp. 223-224; Cabinet of Apollo. 

87. The author is unknown ; it is printed in Penna. Mag. of 
History and Biography, XXVI :336 ; Massachusetts Centinel, 
June 18, 1785. 

88. Printed in Massachusetts Centinel, May 24, 1788; Penna. 
Mag. of History and Biography, XXVI :459. The author is 
unknown. 

89. The Life, Exploits, and Precepts of Tammany, the 
Famous Indian Chief (New York, 1795), by Samuel Latham 
Mitchill. 

90. An oration of the Three Hundred and Eighteenth An- 
niversary of the Discovery of America. Delivered before the 
Tammany Society or Columbian Order in the County of 
Rensselaer and State of New York, with a traditional account 
of the Life of Tammany, an Indian. 

91. Wallabout Prison Ship Series. Henry R. Stiles, M.D. 
(N. Y., 1865), p. 182. 

92. Prof. Guss says Heckewelder " was so prejudiced in 
their favor that he could ' Delawareize ' almost any word " ; 
and Dr. Trumbull adds : " Heckewelder's guesses are abso- 
lutely worthless." Harvey as cited, 1 :42 ; Brinton as cited, 
p. 17; Nelson as cited, p. 94. 

93. History, Manners and Customs of the Indian Nations 
(Phila., 1819), by John G. B. Heckewelder, p. 300. 

94. His real name was Tensquataway, The Open Door. He 
was a man of extraordinary cunning and a powerful agent in 
arousing the superstitious feelings of the Northwestern In- 
dians, and, between 1805 and 1811, enlisted them in " the de- 



82 SAINT TAMMANY 

liverance of the red man from the oncoming whites." He 
declared with much solemnity that he had received power from 
the Great Spirit to cure all diseases, to confound his enemies, 
and to stay the arm of death in sickness or on the battlefield. 
He exacted an oath of fealty from his followers, pledged upon 
a string of sacred white beads which he wore around his neck. 
Carrying with him the life-sized image of a corpse, made of 
light material, to mystify his recruits, he visited the wigwams 
to extol the potency of his mysteries. Fear and woe followed 
in his wake. Harvey as cited, 1 :383. 

95. A narrative of the Mission of the United Brethren 
among the Delaware and Mohigan Indians (Cleveland, Ohio, 
1907), p. 505. 

96. The writings of Thos. Jefferson (Monticello Edition), 
Vol. XIII, p. 141 ; New York Sunday Times, November 5, 
1911. 

97. Pennsylvania Colonial Records, 1:447. 

98. It is difficult to trace the origin of tradition respecting 
the Indians, and often fact and fiction cannot readily be dif- 
ferentiated. Prior to 1800, few Indians could write, and their 
manners, customs, traditions and legends have been reported 
and described to us solely by their white contemporaries. 
These accounts are, at best, colored by prejudice, and it is im- 
possible to judge how much may be the product of the nar- 
rator's imagination and how much was actually recounted to 
him by the Indians themselves. Without a literature of their 
own, it is even possible that the Indians acquired many of 
their so-called traditions through legendary recounted to them 
by the whites and later repeated by the Indians as their own. 
In this form they may have acquired at the hands of later 
writers the dignity of true Indian traditions. See Term In- 
dian Summer, by Albert Matthews, p. 45. 

99. It would seem that the later-day Iroquois themselves 
erroneously attributed to Tammany the achievements of 
Hiawatha. A tradition prevails among the Onondagas that, 
while a band of that tribe was camping in central New York, 
the " Great God Tammany " appeared in their midst in the 



NOTES TO CHAPTER I 83 

dead of night and left with them a red stone, promising them 
that, if they would place it in their " Long House " and hold 
their council meetings around it, he would make them a great 
nation. The Onondagas adopted this advice, and as they grew 
in martial power they left a red stone on the scene of each 
victory in order that the world might mark their successes, and 
passed on exultingly to the next conquest. From this practice 
it is said that the Oneida nation, a member of the confederacy, 
acquired the appellation " People of the Stone." 

The existence among the Iroquois of the tradition that Tam- 
many rather than Hiawatha was their great organizer is fur- 
ther evidenced by the remarks of Cornplanter, the Seneca 
Chief, at the reception tendered him in April, 1786, by the 
Sons of Saint Tammany at Philadelphia. In acknowledging 
the courtesies extended to him he said : " This great gathering 
of our brothers is to commemorate the memory of our great- 
grand-father. It is a day of pleasure (pointing to St. Tammany 
Colours)," and later during the festivities the chief said: " We 
have been refreshing ourselves with wine [therefore] it is fit 
that our old friend who has gone before us [pointing to the 
portrait of St. Tammany on the colors] shall have a glass, 
and if we pour it on the ground, the ground will suck it in and 
he will get it." Thereupon he walked with one of the St. 
Tammany sachems around the council fire, pouring out a liba- 
tion of wine. " The People of the Stone," in The Spirit of the 
Missions, New York, LXXVI (No. 12, December, 1911), pp. 
986-992; Independent, April 22, 1786. 



CHAPTER II 

The Movement of the Tammany Societies in the 
United States prior to 1789 

The history of the movement of the Tammany Societies 
in the United States exhibits two distinct phases. The first 
phase prior to 1789 shows the movement as social in char- 
acter, but gradually assuming greater and greater public 
and patriotic significance. With the establishment of the 
Tammany Society in the City of New York, the movement 
assumed a different aspect. The reconstruction of the 
New York Tammany Society in 1789 inaugurated the 
second phase of the movement, when its political character 
gradually became paramount and assumed, between 1803 
and 1820, such proportions that its influence determined 
the political complexion of national administrations. 

The celebration of May 1st as " St. Tammany's Day " 
led to the establishment of the Tammany Societies in the 
American Colonies. As outlined in the previous chapter, 
the origin of this custom is traceable to the practice of the 
Schuylkill Fishing Company, a social club of Philadelphia, 
organized in 1732. This club inaugurated the sporting 
season on the first day of May of each year with festive 
social functions; and these celebrations, gradually attract- 
ing public notice, inspired emulation. Two other societies 
were formed shortly afterward, their members disporting 
themselves along the banks of the river, closely following 
the forms and ceremonies of the original club. Thus May 
first, the opening of the sporting season in what was then 
the American metropolis, became a holiday recognized and 
observed throughout southeastern Pennsylvania and the 
colonies immediately adjoining on the south. 
84 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 85 

When, however, the opposition to British oppression 
began to manifest itself — upon the passage of the Stamp 
Act, in 1765, and between that date and the convening of 
the first Continental Congress, in 1774 — the Tammany So- 
cieties in the middle Atlantic colonies became leaders of 
revolutionary sentiment. They thus gradually changed 
from purely social to fraternal and patriotic bodies ; for at 
this time Philadelphia, the birthplace of the Tammany So- 
cities, was a hot bed of American patriotism and of the 
political unrest that led to American Independence. 

The first celebrations of " St. Tammany's Day " were 
festivals of the common people, who went through their 
antics and concluded by " taking up a collection." Although 
the object of these contributions does not appear; yet, since 
charity was a feature of the early Tammany Societies, we 
may infer that the proceeds were used for such purposes. 
No accurate record of the beginning of these celebrations 
is available, while the earliest account is given in the follow- 
ing letter written by William Eddis at Annapolis on Decem- 
ber 24, 1771 : x 

There are few places where young people are more fre- 
quently gratified with opportunities of associating together 
than in this country. Besides our regular assemblies, every 
mark of attention is paid to the Patron Saint of each parent 
dominion ; and St. George, St. Andrew, St. Patrick, and St. 
David are celebrated with every partial mark of national at- 
tachment. General invitations are given, and the appearance 
is always numerous and splendid. 

The Americans on this part of the continent have like- 
wise a Saint, whose history, like those of the above venerable 
characters, is lost in fable and uncertainty. The first of May 
is, however, set apart to the memory of Saint Tamina, on 
which occasion the natives wear a piece of buck's tail in their 
hats, or in some conspicuous situation. During the course of 
the evening, and generally in the midst of a dance, the com- 



86 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

pany are interrupted by the sudden intrusion of a number of 
persons habited like Indians, who rush violently into the room, 
singing the war song, giving the whoop, and dancing in the 
stile of those people; after which ceremony a collection is 
made, and they retire well satisfied with their reception and 
entertainment. 

Inasmuch as this letter was written from Annapolis, the 
writer probably had in mind a celebration that took place 
in that city, showing that the spirit of celebration had spread 
southward from Philadelphia. There is evidence that the 
custom became deeply rooted and survived at Annapolis for 
a long time, for in 1841 Ridgely, 2 in his history of An- 
napolis, writes thus vividly of these celebrations : 

1771 — In this year, and for many years later, there existed 
in this city, a society called " The Saint Tamina Society " who 
set apart the first day of May in memory of " St. Tamina," 
whose history, like those of other venerable saints, is lost in 
fable and uncertainty. It is usual on the morning of this day, 
for the members of the society to erect in some public situa- 
tion in the city, a " May-pole " and to decorate it in a most 
tasteful manner, with wild flowers gathered from the adjacent 
woods, and forming themselves in a ring around it, hand in 
hand, perform the Indian war dance, with many other cus- 
toms which they had seen exhibited by the children of the 
forest. It was also usual on this day for such of the citizens, 
who chose to enter into amusement, to wear a piece of buck's 
tail in their hats, or in some conspicuous part of their dress. 
General invitations were given, and a large company usually 
assembled during the course of the evening, and when en- 
gaged in the midst of a dance, the company were interrupted 
by the sudden intrusion of a number of the members of " St. 
Tamina's Society," habited like Indians, who rushing violently 
into the room, singing the war songs, and giving the whoop, 
commenced dancing in the style of that people. After which 
ceremony, they made a collection and retired well satisfied with 
their reception and entertainment. This custom of celebrat- 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 87 

ing the day was continued down, within the recollection of 
many of the present inhabitants of this city. 

While Ridgely bases his account on the letter of Eddis, 
he adds considerable enlightening details of the celebration 
and shows that the festivity was of moment in the affairs 
of the city, and had won for itself a place in public esteem. 

It will be observed that at this period the movement was 
in the first stages of its evolution; that, at its best, it was 
a loose, chaotic gathering held together for the day only 
by a spirit of hilarity and pleasure, lacking the solidarity 
that comes from permanent organization, definite in pur- 
pose and character. The celebrations at this period were 
analogous to our present Hallowe'en festivities and the 
parade of the New Year's " Mummers " in Philadelphia. 3 

In 1772, however, the Tammany movement began to 
assume a greater dignity. The day was celebrated by the 
better class of citizens, and permanent societies were formed 
for social and charitable purposes. Mob characteristics 
were gradually outgrown, and the movement began to assert 
itself as a force worthy of recognition. The first perma- 
nent society of the movement, so far as known, was estab- 
lished in Philadelphia on May first, 1772, and was called 
' The Sons of King Tammany." 4 The first meeting was 
held at the house of Mr. Byrn, and the purposes of the 
gathering were the promotion of charity and patriotism. 
The Pennsylvania Chronicle described the meeting and out- 
lined its purposes in the following words : 5 

On Friday, the first instant, a number of Americans, Sons 
of King Tammany, met at the house of Mr. James Byrn, to 
celebrate the memory of that truly noble Chieftain whose 
friendship was most affectionately manifested to the worthy 
founder and first settlement of this province, after dinner the 
circulating glass was crowned with wishes, loyal and patriotic, 
and the day was concluded with much cheerfulness and har- 



88 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

mony. It is hoped from this small beginning, a society may 
be formed of great utility to the distressed; as this meeting 
was more for the purpose of promoting Charity and Benevo- 
lence, than Mirth and Festivity. 

The sentiments of the members and the character and 
objects of a society are faithfully reflected in the toasts 
drunk at its public banquets, and for that reason the toasts 
offered at various celebrations of the Tammany societies 
are quoted at length. These toasts connote the course of 
the movement, and best epitomize the functions of the so- 
cieties, their viewpoint and their ideals. At the first meet- 
ing of " The Sons of King Tammany " (May 1, 1772) the 
following toasts were drunk : 5 

1. The King and Royal Family (George III of England). 

2. The Proprietors of Pennsylvania (Thos. Penn & John 
Penn). 

3. The Governor of Pennsylvania (Richard Penn). 

4. Prosperity of Pennsylvania. 

5. The Navy and Army of Great Britain. 

6. The Proud and immortal memory of King Tammany. 

7. Speedy relief to the injured Queen of Denmark. 

8. Unanimity between Great Britain and her Colonies. 

9. Speedy repeal of oppression and unconstitutional acts. 

10. May the Americans surely understand and faithfully 
defend their constitutional rights. 

11. More spirit to the Councils of Great Britain. 

12. The Great Philosopher, Dr. Franklin. 

13. His Excellency, Governor Franklin, and prosperity to 
the Province of New Jersey. 

14. His Excellency, Governor Tryon, and prosperity to the 
Province of New York. 

15. The Honorable James Hamilton, Esq., late Governor of 
Pennsylvania. 

16. The Chief Justice of Pennsylvania. 

17. The Speaker 6 of the Honorable House of Assembly 
of Pennsylvania — The kind genius that presides over American 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 89 

freedom forbade it and the Sons of King Tammany appeared 
as averse to drink it as they would have been to swallow the 
five mile stone. 

18. The Recorder of the City of Philadelphia. 

19. The pious and immortal memory of General Wolfe. 

20. The Pennsylvania Farmer (John Dickinson). 

21. May the Sons of King Tammany, St. George, St. An- 
drew, St. Patrick and St. David love each other as brethren 
of one common ancestor and unite in their hearty endeavors 
to preserve constitutional American liberties. 

The first eight toasts, it will be observed, were purely 
conventional and were generally offered at all banquets of 
the day. Toasts 9, 10 and 21, however, were a radical 
step in offerings to Bacchus; and their rebellious character 
reflects the determined attitude of the colonists toward the 
mother country. 

By the 28th of April, 1773, the Society in Philadelphia 
had changed its name to " Sons of Saint Tammany," and 
was thus referred to in the public prints in the notice for 
the annual meeting of that year. 7 Invitations to attend 
this gathering were extended to one hundred and twenty- 
one of the most influential men in the province, including 
the Governor, scholars, members of bench and bar, and 
men of letters. That those who attended the banquet were 
imbued with a keen sense of human sympathy is evinced 
by the following excerpt from the Pennsylvania Chronicle 
of May 3, 1773 : 

A considerable number of the most indigent of the confined 
debtors, deeply impressed with the warmest sense of gratitude, 
beg leave in this manner to return their sincere and hearty 
thanks to the very respectable Society of the Sons of St. Tam- 
many who were assembled the first instant at Mr. Byrn's 
Tavern to celebrate the day, for the plentiful gift of victuals 
and beer, which they were pleased to send, and which was 
faithfully distributed among them. 



90 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

This charitable impulse, it would seem, was common to 
the societies of the day for, in the same column in which 
appeared the article just noted, there was a word of thanks 
from the imprisoned debtors to the Sons of St. George. 

From 1773 to 1778 the Society was more or less inactive, 
and, as the controversy with Great Britain developed, the 
lines became sharply drawn and many deserted the ranks. 
During this period the only signs of life shown by 
the Society, discoverable from contemporary publications, 
were occasional poems or odes dedicated to its patron. In 
1779, however, the Society was revived for a short time in 
consequence of the following notice in the Pennsylvania 
Packet of May 1st : 

The sons of St. Tammany and their adopted brethren of 
St. Patrick and St. George are desired to meet this day being 
the first of May, at the Theatre in South Wark at two o'clock. 
Dinner on the table at three. N. B. The dining at the late 
Proprietors being inconvenient the theatre is preferred to any 
other place. 

No other reference is found for this year or for the suc- 
ceeding year, but the members appear to have been active 
under the name of the Constitutional Society, 8 which in 
1779 designated two persons to deliver orations on the 
Fourth of July, one to speak on Independence and the other 
to offer a eulogy in memory of those who fell in the 
Revolution. 9 

During the years 1780, 1781 and 1782, interest in the 
Society suffered an eclipse, for the public mind was filled 
with the economic depression caused in part by the worth- 
lessness of the paper money in circulation, while social ac- 
tivities were centered in attentions to our French allies. 10 In 
1781 members of the Society were keenly interested in the 
agitation against the paper currency, and under the name 
of " Society of Gentlemen " u threatened to publish the 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 91 

names of those who advocated the payment of debts in that 
medium. In October of this year, forty-two chiefs and 
warriors of the Seneca Indians visited Philadelphia 12 
and were entertained by the Society, in spite of the fact that 
it was at this time apparently inactive. During the year 
1782, while the country was waiting for peace, its inactivity 
appears to have continued, although on December 11, 
1782, Freneau published " The Prophecy of King Tam- 
many," 13 severely censuring Congress for its inexplicable 
delays. When hostilities ceased, on April 19, 1783, the 
Society resumed its activities, and a great celebration 
was held on the first of May on the banks of the Schuylkill 
River, " the treat of the day being prepared in a proper 
cabin set up for the purpose at the head of which was the 
portraiture of our beloved old saint with his well known 
motto ' Kawanio Chee Keeteru.' Above was an elegant de- 
sign of the siege of Yorktown in front of which were his 
excellency General Washington and the Count de Rocham- 
beau." 14 The following toasts were offered at the feast : 

1. St. Tammany and the Constitution of Pennsylvania. 
Kawanio Chee Keeteru. 

2. The United States. May the thirteen stars shine with 
underived lustre, and the thirteen stripes be a terror to tyrants 
forever. 

3. Louis the XVI, the defender of the rights of mankind, 
and the French nation. May the lily and the laurel flourish 
together as long as the stars shine. 

4. The States of Holland. 

5. General Washington and the Army. May justice, grati- 
tude and respect amply repay their services and sufferings. 

6. The officers, soldiers and seamen of the army and navy 
of France, who have fought in the cause of America. May 
their blood which has been spilt and intermingled with 
ours be a lasting cement of mutual interest. 



92 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

7. May the enemies of America never be restored to her 
confidence. 

8. The immortal memory of those worthies who have fallen 
by the savage hand of Britain ; whether in the field, in the 
jails, on the ocean, or on board their infectious and loathsome 
prison ships. Can the tears of repenting Britons wash from 
their flag the stain of such precious blood? 

9. Freedom to those, in every part of the world, who dare 
contend for it. 

10. The friends of liberty in Ireland. May the harp be 
tuned to independence and be touched by skillful hands. 

11. The yeomanry of the land. May those who have been 
Whigs in the, worst of times duly respect themselves. 

12. Free commerce with the world. 

13. Virtue, Liberty and Independence. May America be an 
asylum to the oppressed of all countries throughout all ages. 

At the giving of each toast the cannon fired, and the whole 
company wave three cheers, but when General Washington 
and the Army was named they swelled spontaneously to thir- 
teen, and upon naming " The Friends of Liberty in Ireland " 
and the " tuning of the harp to independence " the sons of St. 
Tammany anticipating the day in which the brave sons of St. 
Patrick shall be free and happy as ourselves burst into thir- 
teen shouts of joy, and the band struck up " St. Patrick's Day 
in the Morning." 

The name of the Philadelphia Society again had under- 
gone a change, for at this meeting it was called the " Con- 
stitutional Sons of St. Tammany." There were about two 
hundred and fifty members present, and a reorganization 
was effected. Thirteen Sachems were elected, and these in 
turn chose a Chief and a Secretary. Old customs were 
revived and the calumet or pipe of peace was smoked. 

On May 1, 1784, the Society held its celebration at Mr. 
Pole's seat on the Schuylkill River. Sachems and officers 
were elected, 15 the council fire rekindled, and the cere- 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 93 

monies further enlivened by a calabash-dance. The fete 
concluded with the smoking of the calumet and a serenade 
to General Washington, who, at that time, was visiting 
Philadelphia. 16 As in the celebration of 1783, the state flag 
of Pennsylvania was draped on one side with the flag of 
France and on the other with the flag of the Netherlands. 
A list of the toasts offered and of the musical selections 
rendered at this banquet follows : 

1. St. Tammany and the day. — Music, St. Tammany. 

2. The United States — May the benign influence of the thir- 
teen stars be shed in every quarter of the World. — Music, 
Yankee Doodle. 

3. Louis XVI, the defender of the rights of mankind. May 
his people be as happy as he is great and good. — Music, Bro- 
golio's March. 

4. The United Netherlands. — Music, Washington's March. 

5. George Washington. — Music, Clinton's retreat. 

6. The Citizen Soldiers of America, and the Army and 
Navy of France. — Music, Capture of Cornwallis. 

7. The Militia of Pennsylvania. — Music, Lovan's Cotillion 

8. Our friends who have fallen in the war, may they live 
forever in the hearts of a free and grateful people. Music, 
Rosalind's Castle. 

9. The best Whigs in the worst of times. — Music, Sweet 
Hope. 

10. Encreasing lustre to the stars of America, and unfading 
bloom to the lilies of France. — Music, Stoney Point and Bro- 
golio's March. 

11. May the people of Ireland enjoy the freedom of Amer- 
icans. — Music, St. Patrick's Day in the Morning. 

12. Free trade in American bottoms and peace with all the 
world. — Music, Washington's resignation. 

13. The land we live in, and our free constitution. ' Kawanio 
Chee Keeteru (i. e., These God has given us, and we wilJ 
defend them.) — Music, Libertv Hall." 

/ 



94 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

On May 1, 1785, the Society celebrated at Beveridge's 
seat, and for the first time the flag of the United States was 
displayed, " ornamented with a fine figure of St. Tammany 
drawn by Mr. Wright." 17 The flags of France and 
Holland were also in evidence as in previous years. 
Sachems and officers were elected as before. Prior to this 
meeting, members of the Society had organized under the 
name of " Friends of the Constitution," 1S opposing the 
proposed changes in the constitution and advocating its 
preservation intact. The appearance of the national ensign 
at the festivities was therefore significant, for, under the 
influence of Washington, state loyalty began to diminish 
in favor of patriotic fervor toward the Federal Union. 

In 1786 the Society entertained Cornplanter (Captain 
O'Beal), the Seneca Chief who at that time was conduct- 
ing negotiations with the Federal government. The chief 
was taken to the Wigwam, where the " Colours of the State 
and of St. Tammany 19 with the Dutch and French 
standards and the buck flag 20 were immediately dis- 
played." A banquet was held, and a war, a peace and a 
mirth dance were given in rapid succession. 

These activities of the Society aroused the resentment of 
some of the residents of Philadelphia, and soon after Corn- 
planter's visit a letter reflecting their sentiments was pub- 
lished in a local newspaper. This letter purported to ema- 
nate from Cornplanter, but it probably was written by a 
member of the Society of Friends who vehemently depre- 
cated the indulgences of the Sons of St. Tammany. The 
letter, dated May 6, 1786, reads as follows: 21 

New York, May 6, 1786. 
Renowned Kinsman : 

After an agreeable journe)'-, we arrived in this city a few 
days ago, where we have been kindly received and hospitably 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 95 

entertained by the Wisemen who compose the perpetual coun- 
cil fire of the New Nations of our brothers of this Island. 

You know, kinsman, how much pains our white brothers 
have taken to cause us to renounce our independent and happy 
mode of life and to exchange it for what they call the pleas- 
ures of civilization and religion ; but they now think differently, 
both of their own and of our manner of living from what they 
did when the great King over the water put dust in their 
eyes and kept them in darkness. They now begin to see in 
what the fine dignity and happiness of man consists, and that 
labour, trade, and the mechanic arts, are only fit for women 
and children; and as for the old stories they used to tell us 
about religion, nobody believes in them now but a few old 
women. As a proof of this preference of our manners and 
principles to their own, a large body of the Citizens of Phil- 
adelphia, assembled on the first of May on the banks of the 
Schuylkill every year, and then in the dress of Sachems cele- 
brate the name, character and death of Old King Tammany, 
in eating, drinking, smoking, dancing and singing around a 
fire. This entertainment ends as all such entertainments do with 
us, in drunkenness and disorder, which are afterwards printed 
in their newspaper in the most agreeable colours as con- 
stituting the utmost festivity and joy. But the principal end 
of this annual feast is to destroy the force of the Christian 
religion. For this religion you know forbids self murder and 
drunkenness. Now by honoring and celebrating the name of 
Tammany who killed himself 22 by burning his cabin in a 
drunken frolic, they take away all infamy from these crimes 
and even place them among the number of virtues. Two or 
three priests generally attend at this feast with the ensigns of 
their professions, that is, with large white wigs and black 
coats ; and as the people here are more disposed to follow the 
example than the precepts of their priests, the example of 
these holy Sachems, has had a great effect in undeceiving the 
people as to their notions about religion and in introducing 
among them our maxims respecting murder and drunkenness. 
Let us hold fast renowned Kinsman, the customs and tradi- 



96 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

tions of our fathers and disdain to copy anything from a 
people who are every day advancing to our state of simple 
manners and national sobriety. Farewell. 

CORNPLANTER. 

It is evident that the Society at this time encountered 
opposition from the strict religionists who were shocked by 
the social extravagances and convivial indulgences of the 
admirers of the aboriginal chief. Notwithstanding, how- 
ever, the disfavor with which the Society was regarded in 
some quarters, on May 1st of this year (1786), 23 it held 
another brilliant anniversary celebration. The standard 
of Saint Tammany was displayed, the buck flag hoisted 
to its place, and artillery discharged, while sachems and 
officers were elected and donned their gorgets and other 
insignia of office. 

On the Chief's breast was his gorget with the following in- 
scription, surrounded with 13 stars : " St. Tammany the Grand 
Sachem, or the Chief to whom all our nation looks up " 24 
A banquet was served and the following toasts were offered: 

1. St. Tammany and the day. 

2. The Great Council fire of the United States — May the 
thirteen fires glow in one blended blaze and illumine the Eagle 
in his flight to the Stars. 

3. Penna., and the illustrious President of the State — May 
wisdom ever preside in our councils. 

4. Louis the Sixteenth. 

5. Our Great Grand Sachem, George Washington, Esq. 

6. Our allies and Friends — May the lilies of France forever 
bloom — the Lion of the Netherlands rejoice in his strength and 
the Irish Harp ever be in Union with the Thirteen stars. 

7. Our Brother Iontonkque or the Cornplanter. May we 
ever remember that he visited our wigwam and spoke a good 
talk for our great grand fathers. 

8. The Friendly Indian Nations — Our warriors and young- 
men who fought, bled and give good council for our nation. 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 97 

9. Our Mothers, Wives, Sisters and Daughters. 

10. The Merchants, Farmers and Mechanics of Penna. — 
May the manufactures of our own country ever have the pref- 
erence of foreign ones. 

11. The University of Pennsylvania, and all Seminaries of 
learning. 

12. May the Whigs of America ever be united as a band 
of brothers. 

13. May the enemies of America never eat the bread of it, 
drink the drink of it, or kiss the pretty girls of it. 

This was the last large celebration of the Philadelphia 
Society. About this time factions 2o crept in, the Society 
slowly became disintegrated and its activities ceased. Some 
of its members, however, clung together and held informal 
dinners from time to time, 20 and later many of the more 
active ones became associated with the Democratic Society, 
which in 1793 established a branch at Philadelphia. This 
organization early in its career became involved in the 
Whiskey Rebellion and under the scathing denunciation of 
President Washington 2T ignominiously dropped from view 
and was succeeded in 1795 by a branch of the Tammany 
Society or Columbian Order of New York. 28 Thus ended 
the most important organization in the early history of 
the movement. 

The Philadelphia Society was the parent stem of the Tam- 
many societies in the United States. From Philadelphia 
the movement spread southward and also found its way 
across the Delaware into New Jersey. As early as May 19, 
1774, there was a Tammany Society in Norfolk, Va. 29 
Whether the activities of this society attained any degree 
of continuity or enjoyed any considerable influence is ex- 
tremely doubtful. We find, however, the record of a cele- 
bration in honor of Saint Tammany held at Norfolk on 
May 1, 1789 ; but it was apparently the recognition of a 



96 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

fete day by the military organization of the town rather 
than a ceremony conducted under the auspices of a Tam- 
many Society. The following newspaper reference de- 
scribes the festivity : so 

Norfolk [Va.], May 6, 1789. Friday last being the an- 
niversary of St. Tammany, was noticed here by the Gentlemen 
Volunteers, who paraded and went through their exercises with 
the usual military paraphernalia, which always carries a pleas- 
ing effect. In their evening march through the Town, three 
gentlemen of character in this Borough preceded the company 
in the dress and resemblance of Indian Chiefs; and after 
spending the day, with the utmost festivity and good humour, 
they proceeded in form to the Theatre and saw the comedy of 
the Miser, with the Agreeable Surprize. 

The movement apparently flourished in Virginia, and in 
1785 the city of Richmond maintained a branch organiza- 
tion. The celebration of that year was made notable by the 
presence of General Washington, who briefly recorded the 
occasion in his diary as follows : 31 " May 2, 1785. Re- 
ceived and accepted an invitation to dine with the Sons of 
Saint Tammany, at Mr. Anderson's Tavern, and accord- 
ingly did so, at three o'clock. " 

The Society again celebrated the Saint's day on May 1, 
1786, with appropriate ceremonies. A contemporary news- 
paper provides us with the following description of the 
event : 32 

Richmond, Va., May 4th, 1786. Monday last, the 1st in- 
stant, the Sons of St. Tammany, in memory of the anniversary 
of their American Saint, gave a very sumptuous entertain- 
ment at the Capitol in this City to which were invited a number 
of gentlemen of different nations, who participated with them 
on the occasion when the following toasts were drank and the 
day spent in the utmost good humor. 

1. The Sons of St. Tammany — May the gallant spirit of 



'TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 99 

their sire animate their bosoms and fire them with the love of 
Liberty and Independence. 

2. Congress — May their wisdom and integrity forever 
cement the union and secure the blessings of freedom. 

3. Our illustrious Commander-in-Chief — May he be as 
happy as he is beloved. 

4. The Legislative, Executive and judiciary of Virginia. 
May the execution of this important trust reflect splendor on 
their public characters, and the love of their countrymen at- 
tend them in retirement. 

5. Our Ambassadors abroad — May the Republican zeal di- 
rect their political talents and their hearts remain true amidst 
the machinations of Courts. 

6. The Sons of St. Patrick — May the torch of friendship 
lighted between them and the Sons of St. Tammany continue 
blazing to eternity. 

7. Agriculture and Commerce — May they go hand in hand 
to bless our country and meet that encouragement they merit. 

8. The Seminaries of Learning — While they advance Science 
may they diffuse the spirit of virtue. 

9. The Worthy Sons of all Saints. 

10. May the Hatchet of American politics never be turned 
against herself. 

11. May the Sons of St. Tammany always be disposed to ex- 
change the bow and tomahawk for the peaceful calumet. 

12. (Missing.) 

13. May the great spirit encircle the whole world in the belt 
of friendship. 

Contemporary publications contain no references to the 
Society's functions, if indeed any were conducted, between 
1786 and 1792. On May first of the latter year, however, 
the Sons of Saint Tammany, in the Columbian Order, 33 
held a pretentious reception and banquet at Bloody Run 
Spring, near Richmond. Covers w r ere spread for upwards 
of one hundred and fifty persons and an elegant repast, par- 
taken of by the Governor, members of the council, and other 



100 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

prominent citizens, was served. The organization which 
sponsored this ceremony was evidently a branch of the Tam- 
many Society or Columbian Order of New York. 

The spirit of the celebration spread to other cities in Vir- 
ginia, and on May 1, 1788, the following event is chron- 
icled : 34 

Harrisburg [Va.], May 1. Yesterday evening being St. 
Tammany's eve, Col. Bell, at the head of a few militia and 

principal inhabitants of the town, hoisted a liberty pole, with 
a flag, thirteen stars and the New Constitution in large letters 
on it; the militia, with some of the principal farmers at their 
head, with farming utensils on their shoulders, drums and 
other music playing", fired thirteen rounds ; after which they 
went to the house of Mr. Brewer Reves, and spent the even- 
ing in the greatest mirth and good humour imaginable. 

On the same day a more elaborate celebration was held 
in another part of the State. Whether this festivity was 
instituted by a permanent society does not appear, for the 
only record we have is found in the following newspaper 
account : 35 

Petersburg [Va.], May 9. Thursday last, being the anni- 
versary of the American Tutelar Saint, the same was celebrated 
by the militia of this town, who paraded and marched to an 
ancient spring, where an entertainment was provided ; at which 
the following toasts were drank attended with a discharge of 
cannon, etc. 

1. St. Tammany. 

2. The virtuous sons and daughters of St. Tammany wher- 
ever dispersed. 

3. The United States. 

4. George Washington. 

5. To the memory of those heroes who fell in defence of 
American Liberty. 

6. The surviving heroes who were engaged in the same noble 
cause. 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 101 

7. The King of France and other allies of the United States. 

8. The Marquis de la Fayette. 

9. May a firm and impartial federal government be estab- 
lished. 

10. True patriotism. 

11. Universal benevolence. 

12. May the agriculture, commerce and manufactures of 
America flourish forever. 

13. The militia of the United States. 

In 1779, we find the first notice of a Tammany celebra- 
tion in New Jersey. The movement, however, met with 
serious hardships in this State, for it must be remembered 
that at the time New Jersey was filled with loyalists and 
that peace with Great Britain had not yet been established. 
Because of the strength of the Tory sentiment even the 
press was loth to give publicity to the affairs of the Society; 
and on April 28, 1779, one newspaper rejected a notice with 
the following apology : 36 

We are sorry we cannot oblige Z, it being inconsistent with 
our plan to admit pieces under the title prefixed to his per- 
formance. His correspondence in another line would be very 
acceptable. The piece for the celebration of the festival of 
St. Tammany, although far from being destitute of merit in 
its way, may not be much relished by our moral readers. 

The celebration, however, found its way into print and 
was briefly described in the columns of another paper as 
follows : 37 " Chatam, May 4. Saturday last being the anni- 
versary of St. Tammany, the titular St. of America, the 
same was celebrated at New- Ark by a number of Gentlemen 
of the Army (i. e. American Army)." 

About this time the New T Jersey Society of the Sons of 
St. Tammany No. 1 perfected their organization. William 
De Hart, an officer in the Army and later a prominent attor- 
ney of Morristown, N. J., was elected President, and Ebe- 



102 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

nezer Elmer, an army surgeon and a practicing physician 
of repute, was chosen secretary. One of the certificates of 
membership issued at this time has been preserved. 3 * 
Singularly, the date 1780 printed on the original was 
stricken out and the date 1779 written over it, at the time 
the certificate was issued, leading to the conjecture that the 
organization was perfected earlier than at first contemplated 
by the promoters. This is the earliest certificate of mem- 
bership in a Tammany Society that has been brought to 
light, and because it is characteristic of the formality and 
seriousness of these organizations, it is presented herein 
in full : 

St. Tammany Society No. 1. 

This is to certify, That Mr. Jesse Baldwin is a member of 
the Society of the Sons of St. Tammany. In witness of which 
I have hereunto affixed my hand and the Public Seal, at the 
Jersey Camp the first day of May in the year 1779. 

Wm. D. Hart, 
Attest Eben. Elmer President. 

Secretary 
(Seal) 

The seal affixed to this certificate bears an artistic device 
representing the Indians and whites in peace and amity 
about the council fire; and on the rim of the seal appears 
the inscription " St. Tammany Exegi monumentum aere 
perennius." 39 The use of this quotation from Horace 
shows that the scholarly gentlemen believed that the insti- 
tution which they founded would prove a monument of 
lasting fame. 

On May first, 1782, a constitution was adopted defining 
the social and charitable purposes of the Society. Since 
this is the oldest written constitution of a Tammany Society 
that the present investigation has brought to light, it is 
deemed of sufficient importance to be quoted in full : 40 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 103 

The Constitution of the New Jersey Society of the 
Sons of St. Tammany No. 1. 

I. — That we will meet annually on the first day of May for 
the celebration of our Saint at such place as shall be notified 
•by the President in the public prints : Provided however that 
if any of the days appointed for the convening of the Society 
should happen to be the Sabbath it will be postponed until 
the monday following. 

II. — That on the first day of May annually the members of 
the Society shall meet to choose a President Vice President, & 
thirteen members for the council three of whom shall be a 
quorum, to meet at such times & places as the President shall 
direct to transact the business of the Society as invested in 
them by these articles. 

III. — That the President & Council on the 2nd of May an- 
nually shall elect a Secretary & Treasurer for the society. 

IV. — That the Council shall have the power of admitting 
new members, constituting them sons of St. Tamminy & issuing 
certificates to them under the seal of the society & sign of 
the President attested by the Secretary; Provided that no per- 
son be admitted as a member but such as is of good report. 

V. — That any member who shall behave in a disorderly & 
disgraceful manner shall be suspended or expelled by a ma- 
jority of members at their annual meeting. 

VI. — That every person at his admittance pay into the 
Treasury the sum of four dollars ; and that every member pay 
therein annually the sum of one Dollar. 

VII. — That the Council shall have the ordering and disposal 
of the public money with rendering a satisfactory account 
to the society annually on the last of May; Provided also that 
all charitable donations shall first extend to the poor of the 
society. 

VIII. — That the Treasurer on the first of May annually 
shall lay his accounts properly adjusted before the Council for 
liquidation. 

IX. — That any article of the Constitution shall be subject 
to alteration or addition for two years by a majority of voices 



104 



EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 



at the annual meeting on the 1st of May; but after that time 
they will not be subject to any alteration but shall be subject 
to addition. 

X. — That every person at his admittance into the Society 
subscribe to the above articles. 

Signed the 1st day of May, 1782. 

J. N. Cum ming, President 
Eben Elmer, Secretary 
Viner Van Zandt, Counsel 
W. Helms, Counsel 
Lr. Halsey. Counsel 



Nath'l Bowman 
Ben. Osmun 
Derick Lane 
A. Weymon 
John Pintard 
Mos. G. Elmer 
Sam'l M. Shute 
Francis Luse 
G. Mead 
John Bishop 
A. Brooks 
Nathan Wilkison 
Jacob Flyer 
Jere'h Ballard 
Jno. Holmes 
Abr. Stout 
Wm. Piatt 



Sam'el Seeley 
John Hopper 
Sam. Reading 
Sam. Conn 
Wm. Anderson 
Jacob Harris 
John Reucastle 
Absalom Martin 
jona forman 
Jos. Breck 
Peter Faulkner 
John Blair 
Wm. Tuttle 
Jona. Holmes 
Edmund D. Thomas 
John Peck 
Wm. Kersey 



Since this Society was designated as " No. 1," it is to be 
inferred that the organization of a series of branches or 
chapters was purposed. However, no further reference to 
the Society or to any branches that may have been formed 
!has been found. This may be explained by the fact that 
John Pintard, 41 whose name appears among the signa- 
tures to this Constitution, and who later founded the So- 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 105 

ciety of Tammany or Columbian Order in New York, re- 
turned to that city in 1783 and engaged in business there. 
Pintard was undoubtedly the prime mover in the project, 
for with his departure the New Jersey Society speedily 
passed out of existence. 

The movement was taken up in Georgia, but its annals 
are brief, and it is difficult to state what degree of per- 
manency characterized the meetings there. The Savannah 
Republican 4 ~ says : " The first fort built at St. Mary's, 
Camden County, and perhaps the first in the State was 
called Fort St. Tammany. A gentleman now residing in 
this city was present while a boy at a celebration by the 
officers and soldiers at the fort on Saint Tammany's Day. 
The May pole used on the occasion was a tree with its 
branches and bark removed; and around that the soldiers 
danced and celebrated the day." The event described no 
doubt happened during the Revolution, and the celebra- 
tions may have been revived annually. Of this, however, 
no record remains. The first authentic account of a Tam- 
many celebration in Georgia is taken from the columns 
of the Massachusetts Centinel and reads : 43 

Savannah [Georgia], May 4 [1786]. On May 1st. inst. 
a number of gentlemen from the Northern States met at the 
hotel in this town, to celebrate the anniversary of St. Tam- 
many, their tutelary saint, where an elegant dinner was pro- 
vided, and the day spent in the true spirit of brotherly con- 
viviality. 

At the table the following toasts in the ancient and ex- 
pressive stile of their patron were drank, viz : 

1. St. Tammany, and liberty of conscience. 

2. Uncle Hancock, and the great council. 

3. Our great brother, the King of France, and all his chil- 
dren. 

4. All our brothers beyond the great water. 

5. Our messengers to all the nations. 



106 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

6. Brother Washington, our head Warrior. 

7. Our old good brother Franklin. 

8. The ladies that love us, and the children they bear us. 

9. Fat bucks and full ears of corn in their season forever. 

10. A clean calumet, and sweet tobacco to all that smoke 
with us. 

11. A fair trade for good things with all nations. 

12. W r ise laws in full force throughout America. 

13. The true faith to our tawny brothers, and sound morals 
and moderation to all christians. 

The inference that the celebration was for the day only 
and not the act of a fixed society, is supported by the fol- 
lowing criticism: " Should the people of Georgia, accord- 
ing to the customs of the nations of Europe and the example 
of their northern brethren, feel the propriety of a patronage 
of this kind, they will no doubt canonize this good, jolly old 
saint and pay respect to this day." u 

Although it has been stated that the Tammany Society 
of Georgia became a great political factor in the affairs of 
the state, 45 no other record of the movement in that com- 
monwealth can be found. 

The Carolinas were also invaded, but what may have been 
the number of societies or the extent of their activities we 
are unable to tell. The only available record is the follow- 
ing extract which appeared in a New York newspaper in 
1788: 

Wilmington [N. C], May 7. Thursday last, the first day 
of May, being St. Tammany's day, the tutelary Saint of 
America, the Federal Club met at Mr. Patrick Brannan's 
agreeable to rule, where an elegant and sumptuous dinner was 
provided for the occasion. They enjoyed the day in the great- 
est good humour, and cheerfulness and amity crowned the 
festive evening. 

The following toasts were given by their worthy and re- 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 107 

spectacle President, H. Machine, Esq., which were drank with 
sincere energy by the Sons of St. Tammany. 

1. United States. 

2. St. Tammany and friends of America. 

3. General Washington. 

4. Doctor Franklin. 

5. Unanimity and steadiness of the counsels of the United 
States. 

6. The friends of Liberty. 

7. North Carolina. 

8. Governor Johnson. 

9. May industry and integrity characterize the inhabitants 
of North Carolina. 

10. Wilmington and trade of Cape Fear. 

11. Our great men good and good men, great. 

12. Injuries in dust. Friendships in marble. 

13. The Federal Club. 

An itinerant gentleman who participated in the above agree- 
able entertainment, observes that it was with the most pleasing- 
satisfaction, he saw so numerous a company, composed of men 
from all nations (the majority of whom were adopted sons of 
our rural saint) unite to celebrate the first of May in this land 
of liberty, and after truly enjoying the day, separating with 
spirits highly exhilirated in the greatest unanimity and good 
humor, not the least bit of discord appeared through the whole. 46 

The celebrations held in southern cities seem to have been 
instituted in the main by northern travellers, and careful 
research does not disclose the existence of permanent or- 
ganizations in the south, except in Virginia, It is probable, 
therefore, that the northern devotees of Saint Tammany, 
from whose enthusiasm the southern celebrations doubtless 
emanated, continued the annual celebrations during their 
sojourn, but did not perfect an organization of such a char- 
acter as to continue the interest from year to year. It seems 
also that the groups of northern people, as soon as the day 



108 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

passed, disbanded, — a conclusion borne out by the meager 
data available. The toasts offered at the banquets in the 
southern celebrations bear a striking similarity to those 
offered in the north, indicating that the participants were in 
close accord, and perhaps in regular communication with 
their northern brethren. 

It has been stated that the Tammany societies sprang 
from the patriotic bands or organizations variously known 
as the " Liberty Boys," " Sons of Liberty," " Friends of 
Liberty," and " True Sons of Liberty." The phrase " Sons 
of Liberty " was first used by Colonel Isaac Barre in Feb- 
ruary, 1765, in the House of Commons, in a debate on the 
stamp bill for the American Colonies. 47 The speech 
was reported in the New London Gazette by Jared Inger- 
soll of Connecticut, who sat in the gallery of the house 
during its delivery. The account was copied by other 
newspapers, and the phrase was soon on the lips of every 
lover of liberty in the colonies. Patriots banded together 
under this name, and notices, bulletins and orders issued 
by them were posted on a tree selected for the purpose, 
known as " The Liberty Tree." Sometimes a tall pole was 
used, and in New York the rallying point was known as 
the " Liberty Pole," erected in the Fields or Common, the 
present City Hall Park. At such places assembled those 
who were interested in the welfare of the colonies to read 
the bulletins, to discuss the latest public events, to listen to 
public harangues, and to sing patriotic songs. 

While there is a great similarity in the development of 
the movements, neither in their origin nor in their objects 
were they identical. The Tammany societies were not only 
patriotic, but also had a social and charitable feature ; while 
the " Sons of Liberty " were actuated only by motives of 
patriotism. It can scarcely be said that the Tammany socie- 
ties in the middle and southern colonies were analogous to 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES PRIOR TO 1789 109 

the " Sons of Liberty " in New York and New England, or 
that the May Day celebration took the place of the " Lib- 
erty Pole " and the " Liberty Tree." 48 The " Sons of 
Liberty," it must be observed, continued their activities up 
to and including the early years of the Revolution, while 
during the first years of the Revolution the Tammany socie- 
ties were inactive and did not renew their activities or their 
festivals until victory was assured. 

It is peculiar that the celebration of Saint Tammany's 
Day was apparently unobserved in New England, 49 and 
that the first phase of the movement did not extend thither. 
Although the " Sons of Liberty " were strongest in New 
England, the Puritan stock did not seem to take kindly to 
the activities of the Sons of St. Tammany. 50 

The movement of the Tammany Societies was radical in 
character and was supported by that same element in the 
community with the courage and with all the daring and 
chivalric tendencies of radicals. The toasts offered at the 
various banquets reveal the character and sentiments of 
these men. The frequent mention of the Sons of Erin and 
their cause may be taken as an indication that the movement 
was under Celtic influence. This fraternal attitude toward 
Ireland and her sons is the more astonishing when we con- 
sider that these sentiments were reversed in the second phase 
of the movement; for the New York Tammany Society in 
the beginning discriminated sharply against the admission 
of Irish Catholics into its fold. 

During the stormy period of 1765 to 1783, when the 
quarrel with the mother country was engendered, the issues 
framed and the crisis determined by a resort to arms, the 
movement expanded, flourished and declined, not to be re- 
awakened and rehabilitated until after Independence had 
been achieved. When the treaty of peace with Great Britain 
was signed the societies entered upon a brief but flourishing 



110 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

career, which lasted until the confederated states assumed 
the work of political reconstruction in 1787. The momen- 
tous political controversy over the adoption of the Constitu- 
tion overshadowed in interest and importance the activities 
of the societies whose patriotic purposes had been fulfilled ; 
and by the time the new government was organized, early 
in 1789, they had slowly disintegrated, thus ending the first 
phase of the movement. Even the parent stem, the Sons 
of Tammany in Philadelphia, having succumbed to the po- 
litical activities of the times, had ceased to perform its func- 
tions. When the seat of the National Government was 
transferred from Philadelphia to New York, the light of 
the movement of the Tammany Societies, already dimmed, 
was snuffed out, to be relighted upon the organization of 
the Society of Tammany or Columbian Order in New York, 
and to burn with renewed lustre through the second and 
important phase of the movement. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER II. 

1. Eddis as cited, pp. 114-115. 

2. Annals of Annapolis (Baltimore, 1841), by David 
Ridgely. 

3. " This was exactly parallel to the celebration of Pope 
night on Nov. 5th." Albert Matthews in a letter to the author 
dated Jan. 15, 1910. 

4. Penna. Chronicle, May 4, 1772 (VI:63/2). 

5. Penna. Chronicle, May 11, 1772 (VI:67/2). 

6. James Galloway, a much-hated loyalist who deserted the 
Whigs. 

7. This notice is set forth in full in: Penna. Magazine 
of History and Biography, XXV :446 ; History of Philadelphia 
(Phila., 1884), by Westcott & Scharf. 

8. Penna. Packet, Feb. 22, 1780. 

9. U. S. Magazine, 1779, p. 99. 

10. On May 4, 1781, a reception was held on board the 
French frigate Herminius, which was an innovation in social 
circles in America. Freeman's Journal, May 16, 1781 ; May 
15, 1782. 

11. Freeman's Journal, May 9, 1781. 

12. Freeman's Journal, Oct. 3, 1781. The Senecas were 
also entertained by the French Embassy. 

13. This poem was first published in Freeman's Journal, 
December 11, 1782, of which paper Freneau was at that time 
editor; the poem later appeared with minor changes in 
" Poems by Philip Freneau," Philadelphia, 1809 ; third edi- 
tion, Vol. I, pp. 269-271. (The frontispiece of this work is 
an engraving of King Tammany by Joh: Eckstein.) The 
original version reads: 

The Prophecy of King Tammany. 

" The Indian Chief, who, fam'd of yore. 
Saw Europe's sons advent'ring here, 
Look'd sorrowing to the crowded shore, 
And sighing dropt a tear; 

111 



112 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

He saw them half his world explore, 
He saw them draw the shining blade, 
He saw their hostile ranks display'd, 
And cannons blazing thro' that shade 
Where only peace was known before. 

" Ah, what unequal arms ! he ery'd, 
How art thou fall'n my country's pride, 
The rural, sylvan reign ! 
Far from our pleasing shores to go 
To western rivers, winding slow, 
Is this the boon the Gods bestow? 
What have we done, great patrons, say, 
That strangers seize our woods away, 
And drive us naked from our native plain ! 

" Rage and revenge inspire my soul, 

And passion burns without control; 

Hence, strangers, to your native shore ! 

Far from our Indian shades retire, 

Remove these gods that vomit fire, 

And stain with blood these ravag'd glades no more. 

" In vain I weep, in vain I sigh, 
These strangers all our arms defy, 
As they advance our chieftains die ! — 
Wliat can their hosts oppose? 
The bow has lost its wonted spring, 
The arrow faulters on the wing, 
Nor carries ruin from the string 
To end their being and our woes. 

" Yes, yes, — I see our nation bends : 

The Gods no longer are our friends, 

But why these weak complaints and sighs? 

Are there not gardens in the west, 

Where all our far fam'd Sachems rest? 

I'll go, an unexpected guest, 

And the dark horrors of the way despise. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER II 113 

" Ev'n now the thundering peals draw nigh, 

'Tis theirs to triumph, ours to die ! 

But mark me, Christian, ere I go — 

Thou too shalt have thy share of woe, 

The time rolls on, not moving slow, 

When hostile squadrons for your blood shall come, 

And ravage all your shore ! 

Your warriors and your children slay, 

And some in dismal dungeons lay, 

Or lead them captive far away 

To climes unknown, thro' seas untry'd before. 

" When struggling long, at last with pain 

You break a cruel tyrant's chain, 

That never shall be join'd again, 

When half your foes are homeward fled, 

And hosts on hosts in triumph led, 

And hundreds maim'd and thousands dead, 

A timid race shall then succeed, 

Shall slight the virtues of the firmer race, 

That brought your tyrant to disgrace, 

Shall give your honours to an odious train, 

Who shunn'd all conflicts on the main 

And dar'd no battles on the plain, 

Whose little souls sunk in the gloomy day 

When virtue only could support the fray 

And sunshine friends kept off — or run away. 

" So spoke the chief, and rais'd his funeral pyre — 

Around him soon the crackling flames ascend ; 

He smil'd amid the fervours of the fire 

To think his troubles were so near their end, 

Till the freed soul, her debt to nature paid, 

Rose from the ashes that her prison made, 

And sought the world unknown, and dark oblivion's shade." 

14. Freeman's Journal, May 7, 1783. 

15. At all the celebrations of the Society, the sachems were 
invested with supreme authority for the day; and at the 



114 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

beginning of the festivities they proclaimed the Law of Lib- 
erty, which commanded " every man to do as he pleases, pro- 
vided always nevertheless that he shall leave every other man 
to do so too ; by which means it is confidently expected that 
peace and good order will be preserved; but if any man shall 
presume to do otherwise he shall be heartily laughed at for 
his folly." 

Freeman's Journal, May 7, 1783 ; May 5, 1784; May 2, 1785 ; 

Penna. Evening Herald, May 6, 1786; Penna. Packet, May 
6, 1784; May 5, 1785. 

Mercury, Philadelphia, May 6, 1785. 

16. Freeman's Journal, May 5, 1784; Penna. Packet, May 
6, 1784. 

17. Penna. Packet, May 5, 1785 ; Freeman's Journal, May 
2, 1785 ; Penna. Mercury, May 6, 1785 ; Independent Gazet- 
teer, May 7, 1785 ; Extracts from the Diary of Jacob Hiltz- 
heimer, of Philadelphia (Phila., 1893), May 2, 1785, p. 73. 

18. Freeman's Journal, June 16, 1784. 

19. Independent; April 22, 1786. 

20. The flag of the Buck tails, a volunteer Company; 
Memoirs of the Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Phila., 
1836), by John F. Watson, 111:229. 

21. Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, XXV :446. 

22. See note 36, Chapter I. 

23. The invitations for this festivity bore the following: 
"A buck's tail and the ticket in your hat, a knife and fork 
in your pocket." See facsimile in Penna. Mag. of History 
and Biography, XXVII, No. 3. 

24. Penna. Evening Herald, May 6, 1786. 

25. Independent, May 6, 1786. 

26. Independent Gazetteer, May 3, 1788. 

27. See page 183. 

28. Freeman's Journal, April 10, 1805. 

29. Virginia Gazette (Purdie & Dixon), May, 1774; Letter 
from Marcus W. Jernegan, dated Nov. 9, 1910. 

30. New York Daily Gazette, May 22, 1789. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER II . 115 

31. Washington after the Revolution (Phila., 1898), by 
W. S. Baker, p. 30. 

32. Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, XXVI :456; 
Penna. Packet, June 5, 1786. 

33. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 19, 3/1, 
1792. 

34. Penna. Mercury, May 24, 1788; Penna. Packet, May 
24, 1788; Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, XXVII :35. 

35. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 22, 
1788. 

36. New Jersey Gazette, April 28, 1779. 

37. New Jersey Journal, May 4, 1779. 

38. The certificate is preserved in the New Jersey Historical 
Society, at Newark, N. J. 

39. From the first verse of the thirteenth ode of Horace's 
Third Book of Odes : " I have built a monument more last- 
ing than 'bronze." 

40. Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, XXVI :210. 
The orginal manuscript is in the archives of the Historical 
Society of Pennsylvania. No constitution of the Philadelphia 
Tammany Society has been found, nor is it known that the 
Society had a written constitution. 

41. See Chapter III, page 132. 

42. Quoted in Penna. Mag. of History and Biography, 
XXVI :458. No date is given. 

43. Massachusetts Centinel, July 1, 1786. 

44. Penna. Packet, June 17, 1786. 

45. History of the Tammany Society or Columbian Order 
(New York, 1901), by E. V. Blake, p. 21. 

46. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 22, 1788. 

47. Harvey, as cited, 1 :534, 563, 585 ; John Wilkes was the 
original " Son of Liberty and Champion of the Rights of the 
People." 

48. When the Stamp Act was repealed, March 18, 1766, 
Nicholas Ray, a representative of the " Sons of Liberty " in 
London, wrote : " Permit me therefore to recommend twenty 
of the principal of you to meet once a month under the name 



116 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

of the Liberty Club and forever on March 18 or 1st of May 
give notice to the whole body to commemorate your deliv- 
erance spending the day in festivity and joy." To this the 
" Sons of Liberty " replied that they had had the matter 
under consideration but postponed it until a future day. See 
Harvey as cited, 1 : 584 et seq. 

49. Tammany Hill near Newport, R. I., is a corruption 
from Wanomitonimo Hill, which was abbreviated to Tonomy 
and then corrupted to Tominy and later to Tammany. Let- 
ter from Albert Matthews to Sir Jas. Murray, Dec. 6, 1909. 

50. In a letter dated May 21, 1909, Albert Matthews wrote 
to Prof. Kittredge of Harvard : " Can you give me any ref- 
erences to the celebration of May Day in this country before 
1771 ? Of course, we all remember Thomas Morton's May 
pole at Merry Mount. The celebration of St. Tammany was 
apparently unknown in New England. Would not May Day 
have been more likely to have been observed in Maryland and 
Pennsvlvania than in New England?" 



CHAPTER III 

Origin of the Society of Tammany or Columbian 
Order in the City of New York 

1. The Founding 

The Right Honorable James Bryce, in his "American 
Commonwealth," x explains the origin of the New York 
Tammany Society as follows : 

It is as old as the Federal Government, having been estab- 
lished under the name of the Columbian Society in 1789, 
just a fortnight after Washington's Inauguration, by an Irish 
American called William Mooney, and its purposes were at 
first social and charitable rather than political. In 1805 it 
entitled itself the Tammany Society, adopted, as is said, the 
name of the Indian chief called Tamanend or Tammany, and 
clothed itself with a mock Indian character. There were 
thirteen Tribes with Twelve " Sachems " under a " Sagamore " 
or Master of Ceremonies, and a " Wiskinkie " or Door-keeper. 
By degrees, and as the story goes, under the malignant in- 
fluences of Aaron Burr, it took a strongly political tinge as its 
numbers increased. 

Mr. Bryce has relied upon the authority of Hammond 2 
for his data relating to the establishment of the Tammany 
Society, and has not departed from the beaten paths fol- 
lowed by most writers on the subject. He has thus failed 
to avoid the pitfalls of error that proved a snare to the 
feet of his predecessors, and has therefore, contributed 
nothing to the history of the establishment of the Tammany 
Society, other than that weight which repetition gives to 
misinformation and mistake. He accepts the year 1789 as 
the date of the establishment of the Society of Tammany in 

117 



118 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

New York; and, although the exact time of the founda- 
tion is not known, an examination of contemporary New 
York newspapers clearly indicates the existence of the So- 
ciety at least three years before that date. 

During the occupation of New York by the British, from 
September, 1776, to November 25, 1783, the city was a hot 
bed of Toryism; for office holders, property owners and 
business men — the conservative class — remained loyal to 
the Crown, while the Revolutionary Party, made up for 
the most part from the lower classes, was hopelessly in the 
minority. It is therefore scarcely probable that a Tam- 
many society existed in New York earlier than the year 
1784, for it took the city some time to accustom itself to 
the exhilarating spirit of freedom infused into it by British 
evacuation. Then, too, a readjustment of property rights, 
made necessary by the new state constitution and by the 
acts of confiscation directed against Tory property hold- 
ers, engaged the attention of residents for some time, so 
that little or no attention was paid to patriotic and civic 
celebrations. Hence we may infer that a Tammany society 
was not formed prior to 1785. The first plans of the so- 
ciety were probably formulated late in 1785, or early in 
1786. The Tammany Society in Philadelphia was at that 
period in the zenith of its prosperity, and the spirit of its 
celebrations was contagious. At the dinner of the Marine 
Society, held at the Coffee House in New York, on January 
25, 1786, the following toast was offered : 3 " St. Tammany 
and the New Constellation. " 

The other toasts proposed at this banquet bear a striking 
resemblance to those drunk at the St. Tammany Day ban- 
quets in Philadelphia and elsewhere. This was probably 
due to the influence of John Pintard, 4 who four years be- 
fore had been prominently associated with the Society of 
the Sons of St. Tammany in New Jersey. Soon after the 



THE FOUNDING 119 

British evacuation, however, he came to New York, and in 
1784 became a member of the Marine Society. 

The Society of Tammany has preserved the corner- 
stone of the first Tammany Hall, erected in 1811 at Park 
Row and Frankfort Street, where the Sun building now 
stands. The stone bears this inscription: " Tammany 
Society or Columbian Order. Founded by William Mooney 
in 1786. Organized under a Constitution and Laws in 
1789. Wm. Mooney 1st Grand Sachem. New York May 
12th 1789." 

The name Tammany Society or Columbian Order was 
not adopted until 1791, as our further discussion of the 
topic in this chapter will demonstrate; but the inscription, 
although written a quarter of a century later, may be ac- 
cepted as evidence of the founding. It finds corroboration 
in the following excerpt from the New York Daily Adver- 
tiser of July 15, 1805 : 

In answer to your inquiries when and how it happened that 
the reading of the Declaration of Independence made a part 
of the ceremonial in observing the 4th of July, if my memory 
serves me, it was as follows : About the year 1786 a Society 
was formed in this City. There was a tradition that a Saga- 
more of some note had once lived on the banks of the Schuyl- 
kill, whose name was Tammany ; him the Society took as their 
patron or Saint. They had understood that his birthday came 
on the first of May; this, therefore, was their great Anniver- 
sary, but always observed according to the old style on the 
12th instead of the first of the month. 

From this item, and from contemporary reports of the 
activities of the Society immediately following 1786, that 
year should be accepted as the starting point of the organi- 
zation. The seed must have been sown certainly as early 
as that year, for the plant appears in full bloom by the year 
following. 



120 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

If the Society held a celebration in 1786, the event was 
of little or no consequence, for no account of it is found 
in the newspaper columns of that year. It gathered suf- 
ficient strength, however, to attract attention to its meet- 
ing in May, 1787 ; and the existence of a Tammany society 
in New York at this time is conclusively brought to light 
by the following notice that appeared in the New York 
Daily Advertiser, April 30, 1787 : 

The members of St. Tammany's Society in the City of New 
York are requested to meet at their wigwam, held at Mr. 
Talmage Hall's, No. 49 Cortlandt Street, on Tuesday, the 
first day of May next, at sun, to celebrate the annual meeting. 
By order of the Sachem. 

Putticatwamina, Sec'ry. 

This notice was followed the next day by a new r s item 
that appeared in one of the daily papers ; 6 the item read : 

The St. Tammany Society in this City will celebrate this 
day, it being the Anniversary of their Saint. 

We are informed that a number of other gentlemen likewise 
intend to observe the day, in honor of 

Immortal Tammany ! of Indian Race, 
Great in the field, and foremost in the chase ! 

The celebration appears to have been a great success, for 
it was elaborately described in the journals of the day. The 
following presents an interesting picture of the occasion : T 

Tuesday last being St. Tammany's Day, (the Tutelar Saint 
of America,) the St. Tammany Society of this City held their 
Anniversary Meeting at the Wigwam at Hall's. 

At eight o'clock P. M. the Society sat down to an elegant 
supper, provided by Mr. Hall, after which the following toasts 
were drank, viz. : 

1st. The Day, and all who honor it. 

2nd. The Land of Liberty. 



THE FOUNDING 121 

3rd. Congress and their Allies. 

4th. The State of New York, and all who wish it prosperity. 

5th. His Excellency, the truly great and virtuous George 
Washington, Esq. 

6th. Louis XVI, King of France, his amiable Queen and 
Royal Family. 

7th. Perpetual Unanimity and prosperity to the Sons of 
Tammany throughout the world. 

8th. The noble patriots who fell in the cause of American 
Liberty. 

9th. May the war hatchet be buried and the pipe of peace 
be smoked, till time shall be no more. 

10th. May the industry of the Beaver, the frugality of the 
Ant, and the constancy of the Dove be perpetual characteristics 
of the Sons of St. Tammany. 

11th. The daughters of St. Tammany and their papooses. 

12th. May the American chain never be tarnished by the 
rust of discord. 

13th. May honor, virtue, a true sense of liberty, and a de- 
testation of slavery be the characteristics of Americans, and 
all their adopted brethren. 

The evening being spent with that cordiality, good humour 
and love that always prevails when the Sons of St. Tammany 
meet, after drinking the above toasts and singing some excel- 
lent songs in honor of their Tutelar Saint, and smoking the 
pipe of peace, every man departed to his own wigwam and 
hunting ground. 

In hopes the ensuing year to spend, 
In peace and love with every friend. 

A correspondent observes that the establishing of St. Tam- 
many Society does honor to the promoters and makes not the 
least doubt but it will be the most respectable Society in this 
city in the course of a little time. 

From these newspaper accounts the origin of the So- 
ciety should be traced to the year 1786. From the fact, 
however, that we find no record of the celebration in that 



122 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

year, it may be inferred that the Society was organized 
later than May first, while the unmistakable evidence of an 
organization perfected to a degree as early as April, 1787, 
would inevitably lead to the conclusion that the Society had 
its origin at least late in 1786. 8 In 1787 it had a meeting 
room or " Wigwam," notices of its annual meeting were 
published broadcast, and the celebration of May first was 
looked upon as an "Anniversary." The observation of the 
newspaper correspondent that the Society " does honor to 
the promoters," and his prediction for its success and re- 
spectability, indicate that it was yet in its infancy and that 
the celebration of May 1, 1787, was its initial function. Sub- 
sequent events bear ample testimony to the trustworthiness 
of the correspondent as a prophet, for the Society was 
destined soon to become the most respectable and most 
powerful organization in the city, a commanding position 
long enjoyed. 

For the year 1788 no notice of the activity of the Society 
is found in local newspapers or elsewhere. This may be 
due either to the fact that the Society was dormant, or to 
the fact that events of greater importance overshadowed 
its functions. For during the period from January, 1788, 
to July 26th of the same year, New York City, as in fact 
the whole State, was engaged in the bitter controversy over 
ratification of the proposed Constitution for the United 
States ; and the election of delegates to the Convention and 
the acrimonious debates that preceded and followed the 
election absorbed the attention of the public to the exclusion 
of other interests. With the ratification of the Constitution 
and the adoption of the Federal form of government, the 
social and political life of Philadelphia and New York took 
on a new aspect. When the seat of Government was 
changed from Philadelphia to New York, it brought about 
a change of the political and social center, and Philadelphia, 



THE FOUNDING 123 

theretofore the first city in the land, met with eclipse in 
social and political splendor. 

The New York Tammany Society in the meantime con- 
tinued its organization, for in the Daily Advertiser of May 
5, 1789, there appeared a letter on some timely subject, 
signed " Tammany," thus indicating that the influence of 
the Society was felt in the community. On May 12th of 
the same year and, in fact, in the same paper, the follow- 
ing notice was inserted : 

St. Tammany's Society. 

The Sons of St. Tammany intend celebrating their Anni- 
versary Festival, on Tuesday, the 1st of May, Old Stile, (cor- 
responding with 12th inst.) at the place appointed. Those 
brethren who are not supplied with Tickets, are requested to 
call on the Stewards for them immediately, or at Aorson's 
Tavern, on This Evening, the 8th inst., where they will attend. 
Those strangers who are now in this city, and who are Mem- 
bers of this Society in any other state, are invited to join on 
the occasion. 

Dinner on the table at 3 o'clock. 

By order of the Grand Sachem. 

William Tapp, Sec'ry pro tern. 

The festivity is graphically described two days later, in 
the following article : 9 

Last Tuesday, being the 12th inst., (or the first of May, 
old stile) was the Anniversary of St. Tammany, the Tutelar 
Saint of America. On this occasion marquee, etc., were 
erected upon the banks of the Hudson, about two miles from 
the city, for the reception of the brethren of that Society, and 
an elegant entertainment provided, which was served up pre- 
cisely at 3 o'clock. 

After dinner the following patriotic toasts were drank, un- 
der thirteen discharges, to each toast, from a Maroon Battery : 



124 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

1. The United States and the new Era. 

2. The Illustrious Washington, in the triple capacity of Citi- 
zen, Soldier and Statesman. 

3. The Vice-President and Congress of the United States. 

4. Wisdom, Justice and Fortitude to the three branches of 
the Federal Legislature. 

5. The Governor of the State of New York. 

6. A grateful remembrance of those, who like Heroes fought, 
and gloriously fell in support of American freedom. 

7. His Most Christian Majesty and all our allies. 

8. May Honor, Virtue and Patriotism be the distinguishing 
Characteristics of the Sons of St. Tammany. 

9. The Sons and Daughters of St. Tammany throughout the 
World. 

10. May the industry of the Beaver, the Frugality of the 
Ant, and the constancy of the Dove perpetually distinguish 
the Sons of St. Tammany. 

11. May the American Chain never be tarnished by the Rust 
of Discord. 

12. May we continue to smoke the Calumet of Peace with 
all Mankind. (At this toast the calumet was smoked by each 
member in turn, in token of indissoluble friendship and peace.) 

13. The day, and all who honor it. 

The number which attended at this festival was very re- 
spectable, and affords, to the first Institutors of that Society, 
a happy presage of its growing importance and respectability. 

The afternoon was spent in the utmost harmony and the 
genuine spirit of conviviality and fraternal affection presided 
to the last. 

After singing numbers of Songs adapted to the occasion, 
and smoking the Calumet of Peace, each member retired to 
his own Wigwam and Hunting Ground, in hopes of meeting 
on the next anniversary, in the same brotherly and affectionate 
manner, to commemorate the glorious deeds and achievements 
of their renowned Patron. 

The ceremonial of the festival was borrowed from the 
Philadelphia Society of the Sons of St. Tammany and is 



THE FOUNDING 125 

tersely explained in the following excerpt from an early 
New York newspaper : 10 

The Society was divided into as many Tribes as there were 
States, each tribe distinguished by the name of a State. The 
members were divided or classed into sachems, warriors, hunt- 
ers, &c. In their processions they always walked in Indian or 
single file, and many of them completely dressed like Indians, 
with their faces painted or smeared, and they were decorated 
with bows, arrows, tomahawks, and long calumets or smoking 
pipes, &c, for a covering a cap or bladder nicely fitted on the 
head, so as to make it a proper depilous Indian skull. Those 
of them who appeared in a hat, jacket and breeches, and left 
their faces white, wore buck's tail in their hats. Their place 
of meeting was called the Wigwam. In short, they affected to 
be Indians throughout. Besides being called the Sons of Tam- 
many or St. Tammany, they also took the Appellation of the 
Columbian Order. 

In this year we note a change in the date of the celebra- 
tion from May 1st to May 12th. No explanation is ottered 
for the change, although it may indicate the existence of 
a tradition that the celebration of St. Tammany's Day 
antedated 1752, when the change from Old Style to New 
Style in reckoning time was inaugurated. 

The Tammany Society that held the celebration on May 
twelfth, 1789, was unquestionably a continuation of the 
Society that held a celebration on May first, 1787. Both 
functions were conducted under the same auspices, and in 
all probability the same person or persons instituted both 
events, since there is a striking similarity in the order of 
arrangement. It seems evident that the toasts were drafted 
by the same pen, for they evince the same sentiment, and 
the tenth toast drunk in 1789 is identical with the tenth 
toast drunk at the celebration in 1787. The true relation- 
ship, however, between the two events can only be completely 



126 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

explained by the early records of the Society itself, if indeed 
they have been preserved. 11 

Elaborate preparation for the anniversary of May 12, 
1789, had been made; the event iself attracted a large num- 
ber of persons; and there is every indication that the So- 
ciety at this time was well established and was growing in 
numbers, in importance, and in reputation. 

Encouraged, no doubt, by the success attained at the 
recent celebration, the Society on two successive days, May 
14th and 15th, 12 caused to be printed a notice for a meeting 
to be held on May 15, 1789. The first notice read: 

The members of the Society of St. Tammany will please 
to recollect, that a full meeting is requested Tomorrow Eve- 
ning, at the usual Place, to transact some Business of impor- 
tance. 

By order of the Grand Sachem 

William Tapp, Sec. pro tern. 

This notice is of considerable moment, since it demon- 
strates that the Society had a regular meeting place, desig- 
nated in the notice merely as " the usual place," and a set 
of officers, showing that it was already well established, with 
a perfected organization. The custom of the Philadelphia 
Tammany Society was to elect officers at the time of its 
festivity, to wit, May 1st. This practice, however, does 
not seem to have been followed by the New York Society; 
at least the published accounts of its celebrations are silent 
on the point. It is likely, however, that this meeting was 
called for the purpose of electing officers, for soon after 
the meeting the New York Directory and Register 13 for 
the year 1789 made its appearance in print, with the fol- 
lowing reference to the Tammany Society : 



THE FOUNDING 127 

St. Tammany's Society 

or 

Independent Order of Liberty. 

This being a national society consists of Americans born, 
who fill all offices, and adopted Americans, who are eligible 
to the honorary posts of warrior and hunter. 

It is founded on the true principles of patriotism, and has 
for its motives charity and brotherly love. Its officers consist 
of one Grand Sachem, twelve Sachems, one treasurer, one 
door-keeper, — it is divided into thirteen tribes, which severally 
represent a state ; each tribe is governed by a Sachem, the 
honorary posts in which are one warrior and one hunter. 

Officers for the present year. 
William Mooney, Grand Sachem. 

Sachems. 

White Matlack James Tylee 

Oliver Glean John Campbell 

Philip Hone Gabriel Furman 

John Burger Abel Hardenbrook 

Jonathan Pierce Cortlandt Van Buren 

Thomas Greenleaf Joseph Gadwin 

Thomas Ash, Treasurer Anthony Ernest, Secretary 

Gardner Baker, Door-keeper. 

Thenceforth during the year regular meetings were held, 
at intervals varying from one week to one month, at which 
the policies and purposes of the order became crystallized 
and its ritual elaborated. 14 It is probable, also, that much 
attention was given to the preparation of a constitution, 
for some time during the same year there appeared in print 
the " Public Constitution " of the Society. 15 This is the 
oldest constitution extant, and, inasmuch as it was prob- 



128 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

ably the first one adopted by the Society, it is deemed of 
sufficient importance to be set forth in full in this treatise : 

St. Tammany Society Constitution. 

Public. 

First. 
This institution shall be called and known by the name of 
Saint Tammany's Society or Columbian Order. 

Second. 
It shall connect in the indissoluble bonds of patriotic Friend- 
ship, American Brethren, of known attachment to the Political 
Rights of human Nature, and the Liberties of this country. 

Third. 
The constitution of this society shall consist of two Parts, 
viz., The external or public, and the internal or private. The 
latter shall ever be subordinate to the former admitting no 
construction contradicting either to the Letter or Spirit of 
the external, or calculated farther to infringe the equal Privi- 
leges of the Sons of St. Tammany, than is necessary to pre 
serve peace, good Order, and Government. 

Fourth. 
Every Member, upon Initiation, shall come under an honor- 
ary Obligation to maintain the Reputation, Constitution and 
Harmony — and to preserve inviolably the Arcana of this 
Society. 

Fifth. 
This Society shall be govered by Thirteen Sachems, an- 
nually chosen by Ballott, who shall form a council, and be 
invested with certain exclusive Judiciary Powers. 

Sixth. 
The President of this Society shall be known (and ad- 
dressed) by the name of Grand Sachem, and be vested with 
certain exclusive Executive Powers. 



THE FOUNDING 129 

Seventh. 
There shall be a Treasurer, annually chosen, who shall pre- 
side over its Funds as by Law directed. 

Eighth. 
There shall be a Secretary annually chosen, who shall keep 
a Journal of its Proceedings and Laws, as by Law directed. 

Ninth. 
No person shall be eligible to the office of Sachem, unless a 
native of this Country, nor to the office of Grand Sachem 
above one year in three, nor to any two offices at one time. 

Tenth. 
This Society shall be divided into thirteen distinct Tribes, 
with one of the Sachems presiding over each, who may have 
separate meetings, as by Law directed. 

Eleventh. 
The Tribes, in their separate Capacity, shall have Power to 
elect their own Officers, who shall not exceed Three in Num- 
ber, and be entitled to receive the honorary Titles of Okemaw, 
Alank or Mackawalaw, at the discretion of the Grand Sachem. 

Twelfth. 
The number of States in the American Union, shall be the 
number constituting a quorum in all meetings of the Sons of 
Saint Tammany. 

Thirteenth. 
When alteration of, or Amendments to this constitution have 
been constitutionally recommended, and discussed by the So- 
ciety, at three Meetings, they shall be finally submitted to the 
Judgment of the Tribes, the consent of Nine Tribes being 
necessary either for the adoption of the same, or to render 
void any part of this Constitution. 



130 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

At some time subsequent to April 6, 179 1, 16 the exact 
date not known, both public and private constitutions ap- 
peared in print. 17 In the private constitution the time of 
the stated meetings of the Society was fixed, the powers 
and duties of the officers were defined, penalties determined 
and fines limited to one hundred cents or less; the initia- 
tion fee was not to " exceed eight hundred cents, nor be 
less than two hundred " ; and every member was obliged 
to pay a " quarterage " of twenty- four cents. 

With the election of officers, in the Spring of 1790, the 
Society was thoroughly and permanently organized, and 
has since continued its respectable and dignified career, ad- 
justing its customs and ceremonies to conform to the 
changes, taste, and fashion of each decade, but clinging 
tenaciously to the ancient traditions that inspired its 
foundation. 

2. Objects. 
Commentators 18 on the origin and early history of the 
Society state with confidence and complacency that William 
Mooney was the founder, and that in establishing this 
patriotic organization he aimed to counteract the pernicious 
tendencies of the Order of the Cincinnati. Some even go 
so far as to say that in organizing the Society Mooney 
served as a tool for Aaron Burr, who, actuated by selfish 
and sordid motives, used the Society to secure his own po- 
litical preferment. Nothing could be more remote from the 
truth, nor can the name of Burr be associated with the 
origin of the Society in any way. 

No list of the members who attended the meetings in 
1786, 1787, 1788, or even in 1789, is extant. The only 
name that has been preserved is that of William Tapp, the 
Secretary pro ton. in 1789, of whom little or nothing is 
known. In the first issue of the New York Directory in 
1786 he is described as " acomptant," with a residence on 



OBJECTS 131 

George Street; his name also appears on the membership 
list of the Order of the Cincinnati, indicating that he was 
a veteran officer of the Revolution. In 1789, while he was 
acting as Secretary of the Tammany Society, he kept a 
•boarding house at No. 1 Mill Street, now Stone Street, and 
in 1790 was located at No. 7 King Street. 10 

The name most prominently associated with the Society 
in its early years is that of William Mooney, a merchant of 
the middle class, with a place of business in Nassau Street. 
We notice his name in print for the first time in the New 
York Directory for 1786, in which he is described as " Wil- 
liam Mooney, Upholsterer, 14 Nassau Street." The adver- 
tisements of his business appear in the daily newspaper 
columns 20 of that year as a paper hanger, upholsterer and 
furniture dealer. He is again called to our attention through 
the conspicuous part he played in the great Constitutional 
Parade 21 in New York City on July 23, 1788. The various 
trades furnished floats for the occasion and Mooney, rep- 
resenting the upholsterers, was shown on a float in the act 
of preparing the Presidential chair. Nothing further is 
known of his career, except that he was a veteran officer of 
the Revolution, until his name appears as the Grand Sachem 
of the Tammany Society in 1789. After this date he oc- 
cupied positions of prominence in the Society continuously 
for upwards of thirty years, as Grand Sachem, Sachem, or 
chairman of important committees. 22 Added prominence is 
given to his name by the fact that many charters and dis- 
pensations granted to allied bodies or chapters of the Tam- 
many Society, throughout the United States, bore his sig- 
nature, while some of the copies of the Tammanial laws 
and rituals forwarded to these bodies were in his own hand- 
writing. 23 Through his connection with the Society he 
secured a lucrative position in the municipal administration 
as superintendent of the almshouse, from which post he 



U2 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

was removed on September 18, 1809, 24 for malfeasance in 
office. The investigation into his official conduct revealed 
gross irregularities, misappropriation of funds, and the per- 
version of the perquisites of his office to luxurious and in- 
temperate indulgence. 25 Nevertheless he continued to enjoy 
the confidence of the Society and retained a leading posi- 
tion in its activities. At the celebration of the 42d anniver- 
sary of the Society, held on May 12, 1831, the orator 26 of 
the day delivered a glowing eulogy " to this venerable man." 
Myers in his " History of Tammany Hall " gives November 
of that same year as the time of his death, although we find 
no contemporary record to fix the date of his demise. 
Mooney was an original member of the veteran corps of 
artillery of the State of New York, founded November 25, 
1790, by virtue of the prerogative of Governor George Clin- 
ton. The corps was composed of officers and soldiers who 
served with honor in the war of the Revolution. 

The conspicuous character of the official acts of William 
Mooney during his long and active career in the Society, 
coupled with his election as Grand Sachem at the time of 
the reconstruction of the Society in 1789, when its affairs 
emerged into the light of formal public recognition, gave 
rise to the notion that he founded the organization; and a 
hostile press contemptuously referred to him as " Old 
Father Mooney." 27 The inscription on the corner-stone 
which attributed this honor to him was done under his direc- 
tion, as chairman 28 of the committee on arrangements, 
while his vainglorious and unscrupulous character justifies 
the belief that he arrogated to himself the credit of found- 
ing the Society. 29 

The guiding influence in the establishment of the Society 
of Tammany or Columbian Order in New York is readily 
traceable to John Pintard, merchant, philanthropist and 
scholar, to whom reference has already been made in this 



OBJECTS 133 

work. Soon after the Treaty of Peace in 1783, he came 
to New York to engage in business with an uncle, and at 
once likewise plunged into society, politics, and particu- 
larly into all the humanitarian and civic movements of 
the day. In 1788 and 1789 he was an assistant alderman, 
and in 1790 was elected to the state legislature. The scope 
of his activity was so broad that he became a member of 
every society and a participant in every movement of im- 
portance in New York, at this period still the State capital. 
In 1786 he arranged the banquet of the Marine Society and 
probably drafted the toasts which were the first recorded 
expression of approval for the movement of the Tammany 
societies in New York. These toasts doubtless furnished 
the inspiration, or at least voiced the sentiment, which led 
to the formation of the Tammany Society soon afterward. 
The Society kept pace with the impetus given to New 
York City by the removal thither of the seat of the 
National Government, and this increase in numbers and 
prestige necessitated the Society's reconstruction in 1789. 
Although Pintard was not elected Grand Sachem after the 
reorganization, his genius and imagination are plainly 
traceable in the ambitious scope and elaborate ceremonial 
adopted. It is a singular circumstance that Pintard never 
occupied the presidency or other chief executive office in 
any of the societies in which his influence predominated. 
This, however, may be accounted for by his excessive mod- 
esty, an obstacle to his success as a public speaker. In the 
responsible position of secretary, however, the formal activi- 
ties and detailed arrangements usually fell under his 
influence. It is said that he drafted the by-laws for every 
society of importance in New York City in his day, and the 
first Constitution of the Tammany Society bears every 
evidence of his style. 



134 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

The ostensible objects of the Society are briefly stated in 
the second paragraph of the Public Constitution as follows : 

It shall connect in the indissoluble Bonds of patriotic Friend- 
ship, American Brethren, of known attachment to the political 
Rights of human Nature, and the Liberties of this country. 

Pintard, however, indulged hopes for the organization 
of a great national society, to include among its other func- 
tions the preservation of American relics and historical data, 
as a stimulus to continued patriotism and national pride. 
In formulating his plans and for the purpose of promoting 
interest in them he sought the advice and co-operation of 
scholarly gentlemen in other cities, and for a period of a 
year and a half he exchanged views with the eminent 
scholar, Dr. Jeremy Belknap of Boston. This interesting 
correspondence gives us a clear conception of Pintard's rela- 
tion to the Society and discloses the purpose with which at 
this period it was most seriously concerned. 

In August, 1789, Pintard visited Belknap and evidently 
disclosed his scheme of such a society, for at once Belknap 
dispatched the following anxious inquiry to his friend 
Hazard : 30 

Boston, August 10, 1789. 

This day a Mr. Pintard called to see me. He says he is an 
acquaintance of yours, and wants to form a Society of An- 
tiquaries, etc. He seems to have a literary taste, is very loqua- 
cious and unreserved. Do give me his character. 

Previous to this, however, Pintard had discussed his plans 
with Hazard, who heartily endorsed the scheme, for he 
replied to Belknap's inquiry from New York, September 5, 
1789, as follows : 31 " Mr. Pintard has mentioned to me 
his thoughts about an American Antiquarian Society. The 
idea pleases me much. We shall have the plan upon paper 
one of these days, and you will doubtless be made acquainted 



OBJECTS 135 

with it." The idea was not permitted to languish. Pintard 
persistently expounded his purposes and developed his 
plans; and in 1790 we again find Belknap writing to his 
friend Hazard urging co-operation as follows : 32 

Boston, August 27, 1790. 

When Mr. Pintard was here he strongly urged the form- 
ing a society of American Antiquarians. Several other gentle- 
men have occasionally spoken to me on the same subject. Yes- 
terday, I was in company where it was again mentioned, and 
it was wished that a beginning could be made. 

To this note Hazard penned the following brief reply 
from New York, October 3, 1790: "I like Pintard's idea 
of a Society of American Antiquarians ; but where will you 
find a sufficiency of members of suitable abilities and leisure? 
Where will jarring interests suffer the museum to be 
kept?" 33 

Pintard, in the meantime, had succeeded in impressing 
upon the Society of Tammany his project for the establish- 
ment of a historical museum. Late in 1790 he explained 
the scope of this special feature and commented interest- 
ingly on the general purposes of the Society in the follow- 
ing letter to Belknap : 34 

New York, October 11, 1790. 
Dear Sir: 

I am exceedingly indebted to you for your present of the 
Indian Bible, which came safe to hand. I shall deposit it 
with your permission and in your name in the American Mu- 
seum, laterly instituted by the St. Tammany's Society in this 
city for the express purpose of collecting and preserving every- 
thing relating to the natural or political history of America. 
A small fund is appropriated to that purpose, and should the 
Society exist, this branch of it may arrive to something useful. 

I have not time to explain the principles of this Society, of 



136 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

which I am a member, further than that it is a political insti- 
tution founded on a strong republican basis, whose democratic 
principles will serve in some measure to correct the aristocracy 
of our city. 

Following the suggestion of Pintard, the Massachusetts 
Historical Society, the venerable clean of all such organiza- 
tions, was formed in Boston, at the house of William Tudor, 
January 24, 1791, and Dr. Belknap was elected its first 
president. Pintard, however, still clung to his idea of a 
national patriotic society, hoping that the Tammany Society 
would one day carry out his dreams. Soon after the found- 
ing of the Massachusetts Historical Society he wrote to its 
president, proposing cooperation with the Tammany So- 
ciety. In this significant communication, quoted below in 
part, Pintard expatiates on the progress of the museum, ex- 
plains the Columbian feature of the Society, and furnishes 
us with the latest item of first-hand information on its char- 
acter and functions at this period. 

April 6, 1791. 

I wish to hear whether your Antiquarian Society is com- 
mencing, or its prospects. An account will be given in some 
future magazine of our Tammany Society. 35 (We have lately 
uncanonized him.) This being a strong national society, I 
engrafted an antiquarian scheme of a museum upon it. It 
makes a small progress, with a small fund, and may possibly 
succeed. We have got a tolerable collection of Pamphlets, 
mostly modern, with some History, of which I will also send 
you some day an abstract. If your society succeeds, we will 
open a regular correspondence and interchange communica- 
tions, duplicates, etc. If my plan once strikes root, it will 
thrive. . . . 

Our society proposes celebrating the completion of the third 
century of the discovery of America, on the 12th of October, 
1792, with some peculiar mark of respect to the memory of 
Columbus, who is our patron. We think besides a procession 



OBJECTS 137 

and oration — for we have annual orations — of erecting a 
column to his memory. I wish to know, if possible, the dimen- 
sions and cast of your monument on Beacon Hill, to guide our 
calculations. 

In response to Pintard's communications the Massa- 
chusetts Historical Society " voted that the corresponding 
secretary open a correspondence with the St. Tammany So- 
ciety of New York," 36 and pursuant thereto a letter was 
dispatched to " John Pintard, Esq., Secretary of the Tam- 
many Society in New York," to solicit a friendly inter- 
course, exchanges and cooperation. At the same time four 
members of the "Apollo," the official magazine of the his- 
torical society, were forwarded. In his reply, Pintard ex- 
pressed his desire to assist in promoting the objects of the 
institution and gave assurance of his sympathy. 

It is to be regretted that Pintard, in his busy life, 37 did 
not find time to write the account of the Society to which 
he refers. On May 13, 1790, in a letter to Baron Steuben, 
President of the New York State Society of the Cincinnati, 
he stated that the Tammany Society was " established on 
National Principles." Unfortunately this letter is not 
now accessible, and the excerpts quoted in this monograph 
are the only available expositions by Pintard of the prin- 
ciples of the Tammany Society. 

Enough, however, is outlined to indicate that Pintard 
dominated the Society in its formative period. 39 Although 
he filled the subordinate office of Sagamore or Master of 
Ceremonies, his activity in the management and direction 
of the affairs of the Society was so great that he was re- 
sponsible for the recognition it received and the dignity 
accorded it at the hands of contemporaries. Under his 
influence it expanded its functions and acquired character 
and solidarity. 

Upon the objects of the Society the periodicals of the 



J 



138 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

day dilated in broad platitudes which tend to confuse rather 
than to enlighten. For example, one publication 40 in 1789 
offers the following : 4 This being a National Society, it 
is founded on the true principles of patriotism, and has for 
its motives charity and brotherly love." The next year 
the same publication gives the objects thus : " This national 
institution holds up as its objects the smile of charity, the 
chain of friendship, and the flame of liberty, and, in gen- 
eral, whatever may tend to perpetuate the flame of Freedom 
or the political advantage of this country." In an oration 
delivered before the Society on May 12, 1790, Dr. William 
Pitt Smith declared 41 that the primary objects of the So- 
ciety were: (1) to impress upon the institution a strong 
American feature by adopting Indian terms, customs, 
dresses and ornaments, and that the Order might eventually 
adopt a pattern for a distinctive national dress; (2) to pro- 
mote intercourse between the states, and to remove local 
and class prejudices; (3) to establish a society whose mem- 
bership was not gauged by wealth or class; (4) to culti- 
vate and diffuse political knowledge. At the reception ten- 
dered by the Society to the Creek Indians on August 2, 
1790, 42 Dr. Smith, in his address of welcome, again out- 
lined the objects in these words : " Our great object is to 
cherish, to spread abroad, and to maintain the love of free- 
dom." The Society in an address issued to the people of 
the United States on February 2, 1795, described its basic 
principles in these words : 4S 

Whereas this Society acknowledges neither political prin- 
ciples for its establishment, nor political objects for its pur- 
suits ; but is founded on the broad basis of natural rights and 
is solely designed to connect American brethren in the indis- 
soluble bonds of Patriotic Friendship, and 

Whereas if it be not strictly against the Tammanial Con- 
stitution, it at least militates against the spirit and tenor of 



OBJECTS 139 

that constitution for this society to intermeddle in public ques- 
tions, either by their actions or the publication of their senti- 
ments as a society, and tends directly to defeat its object by 
interrupting harmony and destroying Friendship. 

And the Society, again, in an address 44 published in 1819, 
described its principles in these sentences : " The Society of 
Tammany or Columbian Order is founded upon the dignified 
principles of Public Liberty. It is the task of this Society 
to adhere with the faith of the magnet to the principles of 
the revolution." 

At the 42d anniversary celebration of the Society, held 
on May 12, 1831, Sachem Grant outlined its principles in 
the following toast : 45 : ' Tammany Society or Columbian 
Order, — a great national institution, founded on the prin- 
ciples of civil and religious liberty — the glory of man." 

That another object was the conciliation of the Indian 
tribes 4e is an impression that will not down. This view, 
which was current as early as 1838, has been adopted by 
many later writers. At the time of the reconstruction of 
the Tammany Society and immediately thereafter, the coun- 
try was in a state of turmoil because of the depredations 
of the Indians on the frontiers. The Society performed 
a patriotic function in entertaining the representatives of 
the various tribes who came to New York to negotiate with 
the National Government for establishing peace. In Feb- 
ruary, 1790, the chiefs of the Oneida Indians visited New 
York; and, in an entertainment provided for them by the 
Tammany Society, the Scribe informed them that " This 
society is formed to promote good will and friendly inter- 
course between you and us." 47 To give these words any 
further significance than mere diplomatic courtesy seems 
unwarranted; nevertheless they are the foundation for the 
assumption that the conciliation of the Indians was one of 
the principal objects of the Society, while in fact the per- 



140 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

formance of these highly useful offices was wholly 
fortuitous. 

Pintard's remark that " It is a political institution founded 
on a strong republican basis, whose democratic principles 
will serve in a measure to correct the aristocracy of our 
city " gave rise to the contention that the Society was or- 
ganized to oppose the Cincinnati. Many writers attribute to 
it this purpose, 48 although an understanding of the circum- 
stances surrounding the establishment and early growth of 
the Society does not warrant such an inference. By " aris- 
tocracy," Pintard undoubtedly meant the Tory reaction- 
aries, who by reason of wealth and social position devel- 
oped strength after the disabilities imposed upon them dur- 
ing the war had been removed. The line of cleavage was 
between the patriots and the loyalists, not between any 
class or classes of men who, like the Sons of Saint Tam- 
many and the members of the Cincinnati, had struggled side 
by side for American freedom. There is nothing in the 
early character of the Society, with its Indian emblems and 
ceremonial, which would indicate that it was intended to 
operate as a check to the Cincinnati, to " laugh the vanity 
of hereditary honors out of countenance " and to combat 
those who " wished for the loaves and fishes of government 
and cared for nothing else but a translation of the diadem 
and sceptre from London to Boston, New York or Phila- 
delphia." 49 It is true that when the Cincinnati was or- 
ganized, it seemed to the masses that an institution was 
created which threatened to develop into an hereditary 
aristocracy ; but a change in the exclusive rules of the order 
and the passage of time dispelled these fears ; while, by the 
time of the founding of the Tammany Society, the aris- 
tocratic pretensions of the Cincinnati and the bitterness en- 
tertained toward it were reduced to a minimum in New 
York City. 50 



OBJECTS 141 

In 1789 the utmost good feeling prevailed between the 
Tammany Society and the Order of the Cincinnati. Compli- 
ments and felicitations were exchanged at their banquets, 61 
and the Cincinnati, at an early date, " congratulated the 
[Tammany] Society . . . and expressed their wishes 
that, as the institutions were founded on similar principles, 
the most perfect union might subsist between them and that 
the chain of their friendship might be brightened by mutual 
endeavors to serve their country." Members of the Cincin- 
nati were also prominent members of the Tammany So- 
ciety ; 52 invitations to dine were cordially exchanged, 53 and 
a committee delegated by the Tammany Society, " to con- 
gratulate the Society of the Cincinnati on the happy return 
of the day," reported " that they had waited on the Society 
of the Cincinnati and were received by the President and 
members with every mark of friendly regard and attach- 
ment." 54 Without further comment, therefore, we may 
dismiss as unfounded the statement that the Tammany So- 
ciety was instituted to counteract " pernicious " principles 
propagated by the Order of the Cincinnati. 

The Society had a charitable side and a fund was raised 
by collection at the annual festivities for the relief of delin- 
quent debtors. This was a favorite practice of the day, for 
the Poor Debtors' Laws were stringent and worked untold 
hardship. 55 As the Debtors' Relief Laws were forced on 
the statute books, the Society turned its charitable atten- 
tions in other directions. This phase of the Society became 
a distinguishing feature, which still endures ; and, in the 
act 56 of the legislature of New York State that incorporated 
the Tammany Society or Columbian Order, the object is 
stated to be " relief to the indigent and distressed members 
of the said association, their widows and orphans, and 
others who may be found proper objects of their charity." 

In 1790 the objects were not clearly grasped by the pub- 



142 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

lie, for even so keen an observer as Senator Maclay of 
Pennsylvania noted in his diary on May 12th of that year : 
u There seems to be some kind of order or society under 
this denomination, but it does not seem digested as yet." 
There is a dearth of contemporary information on the sub- 
ject, and subsequent writers have enumerated a variety of 
objects limited only by the vagaries of the particular author. 
It is unfortunate, however, that more information is not 
available from so reliable a source as Pintard; and contem- 
porary letters and speeches, which might shed much light 
upon the inquiry, have not been unearthed. We know for 
instance that on May 12, 1791, Josiah Ogden Hoffman, 
one-time Grand Sachem, delivered an oration entitled 
" Origin of the Columbian Order and the Society of Cin- 
cinnati," 5T in which, according to the newspaper account, 
he discussed at length the origin and objects of the Society. 
And on May 12, 1825, Lemuel Smith spoke on the " Orig- 
inal Organization of the Tammany Society " ; 58 but neither 
of these speeches has been preserved. It may fairly be con- 
cluded, however, that the Society was instituted primarily 
as a social, fraternal and benevolent organization, based 
on democratic principles, that its membership was not de- 
termined by caste, but that all might mingle on the basis of 
manhood rather than on that of wealth or culture. 

It is remarkable that the strong anti-Catholic sentiment 
discernible in the early development of the Society has 
hitherto escaped critical attention. English oppression in 
Ireland, which became acute in 1688 and continued for a 
century and a half, caused a heavy emigration to America. 
Beginning with the opening of the 18th century, and espe- 
cially from 1720 on, thousands of Irish emigrants settled 
in Pennsylvania, 09 Maryland and the southern colonies 
where religious toleration was one of the cardinal virtues 
of these communities. The following letter, written in 



OBJECTS 143 

1729, aptly describes the great Irish influx into Pennsyl- 

60 « 

vania : 

It looks . . . as if Ireland is to send all her inhabitants 
hither, for last week not less than six ships arrived and every 
day two or three also arrive. The common fear is, that if 
they continue to come they will make themselves proprietors 
of the province. It is strange . . . that they thus crowd 
where they are not wanted. The Indians themselves are 
alarmed at the swarm of strangers, and we are afraid of a 
breach between them, for the Irish are very rough to 
them. . . . The greater portion of them are Catholics and 
have priests officiating in the Irish language, which is spoken 
by many of the laboring classes. 

Great numbers settled in Philadelphia and vicinity, and 
their descendants slowly drifted into the political and social 
activities of the day. Their native aggressiveness and nat- 
ural aptitude soon made them a factor in the new game. 
It followed that when the Tammany societies were organ- 
ized in Philadelphia and in the southern colonies, the Irish 
Catholic took up the movement with enthusiasm and it soon 
passed under his complete control. A glance at the toasts 
offered at the banquets of these societies shows that the move- 
ment was under the auspices of the Irish, who were over- 
whelmingly Catholic in these localities. In the north, how- 
ever, the movement developed under the domination of John 
Pintard, who, although a man of liberal views, was by train- 
ing and family tradition averse to the spirit of Catholicism. 
He was descended from Huguenot stock, trained in his early 
youth at the school of the Rev. Leonard Cutting, an Epis- 
copal clergyman on Long Island, and later completed his 
education at Princeton College, in those days a violently 
sectarian institution. New York City, moreover, was not 
at this time considered a haven for victims of religious in- 
tolerance; and, though, soon after the Treaty of Peace, in 



144 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

fact as soon as the success of the American arms seemed 
assured, the Irish immigrants flocked to America, they pre- 
ferably landed in Boston and in Philadelphia, avoiding New 
York because of its loyalist tendencies. There was, how- 
ever, in the city, prior to its evacuation by the British, a 
large number of Irish who were Protestant in faith and 
loyal to the Crown. When the British evacuated New York 
in 1783, Irish Catholics from Boston, Philadelphia, and 
even from their native land, began to pour into the city. 61 
Their tact and their ready adaptability to new conditions 
soon won them an enviable place in the affairs of the mu- 
nicipality. Their success aroused animosity among the 
intolerant, and, on the reconstruction of the Tammany So- 
ciety in 1789, decisive steps were taken to curb this tendency 
and to prevent the Society from passing under their control 
as had been the case with the Tammany Society in Phila- 
delphia. The constitution of this year, which has already 
been credited to the genius of Pintard, states that " no per- 
son shall be eligible to the office of Sachem unless a native 
of this country." By another clause absolute control of the 
Society was placed in the hands of a council composed of 
the thirteen Sachems, vested with certain exclusive judiciary 
powers. Two negative votes in every sixteen cast were 
sufficient to exclude an applicant for membership, and this 
rule kept the membership, and through it the Society, under 
the complete domination of the Sachems. Thus the reor- 
ganizes readily retained control. Its principles were ex- 
pressed as strongly American, and the term " National " 
was used to describe its sentiments, connoting opposition to 
the Irish Catholics and stigmatizing their aspiration as un- 
American. 62 

This sectarian prejudice, masquerading as national pride, 
was the forerunner of the American Protective Association 
or " Know Nothing " Party, which aroused such acrimo- 



OBJECTS 145 

nious controversies in New York some fifty years later, 
and wmch, by the irony of fate, was bitterly opposed by the 
Tammany Society, by that time under Hibernian control. 63 

Singularly the Philadelphia branch, organized under the 
first dispensation issued by the Society, welcomed Catholics 
into its fold and presently passed completely under their 
influence. Although the chapter prospered under these 
auspices, it was bitterly attacked in the press and in the po- 
litical arena because of its strong Irish-Catholic character. 64 
The Washington Chapter of the Society, which was organ- 
ized August 1, 1807, was most unfortunate in its dealing 
with this problem. Immediately after its organization, it 
was confronted with the question of excluding aliens from 
membership ; and by the dissensions which survived the 
controversy the Society was rent asunder. 65 

In the New York Society, however, the undemocratic 
feature gradually disappeared, the opposition to admitting 
aliens being finally beaten down 'by the persistent efforts 
of the Irish to gain recognition. The process was attended 
t>y friction within the Society 66 and the battle was fiercely 
waged without. As the Society became more interested in 
politics, the spirit of toleration, inspired by the desire for 
votes, swept aside religious prejudice; and, with the advent 
of manhood suffrage in 1821, Irish Catholics and indeed all 
aliens were cordially received within its portals. After 
1821 the Irish membership and influence had become domi- 
nant, if the cordial toasts to Ireland's sons and the popu- 
larity of St. Patrick, who well nigh supplanted Columbus 
as a patron, may be ascribed to genuine sentiments. The 
complete recognition accorded to the Irish race is reflected 
in the following toast offered at the banquet of the Society 
on its 42d Anniversary, May 12, 1831: "St. Patrick and 
St. Tammany — Both purified their respective countries, — 
the first from poisonous reptiles, the other from the tools 



146 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

of tyranny and despotism. Heaven grant that they may 
soon exchange works." 6T 

The Society as reorganized in 1789 had two patrons, 
Saint Tammany and Columbus. The private constitution 
provided that on the first Monday of October in each year 
a brother should deliver before the Society a " Long Talk " 
in honor of Columbus; and as early as April 6, 1791, Pin- 
tard announced the intention of appropriately celebrating 
the tercentenary of the discovery of America. Tammany, 
however, retained his place in the reverence and affections of 
the Society, and was regarded as its original patron. While 
Columbus was recognized in the toasts offered at the fes- 
tivals, his place was subordinate to that occupied by the 
aborigine. The following toast, drunk at the celebration 
of February 22, 1790', in honor of Washington's birthday, 
illustrates the status of the Patrons : a8 " The Birth of Co- 
lumbus, our secondary Patron." At the reception to the 
Creek Indians on August 2, 1790, Dr. William P. Smith, 
Grand Sachem of the Society, explained the dual system 
of patrons as follows : M 

Although the hand of death is cold upon their bodies, yet 
the spirits of two great Chiefs are supposed to walk back- 
wards and forwards in this great Wigwam, and to direct us 
in all our proceedings — Tammany and Columbus. Tradition 
has brought to us the memory of the first. He was a great 
and good Indian Chief, a strong warrior, a swift hunter, but 
what is greater than all, he loved his country. We call our- 
selves his sons. 

In all pageantry and ceremonial of the Society, however, 
the two were linked in equal importance, and, as late as 
1812, no Tammanial procession was complete without a 
float as its central feature, presenting in allegorical signifi- 
cance the two great patrons of the Society — Columbus bear- 
ing the Cross, the emblem of civilization; Tammany bear- 



OBJECTS 147 

ing the constellation of the thirteen American stars, alter- 
nately smoking the Calumet of peace. The figures were 
shown seated on an elevated car, over which presided the 
Genius of America bearing the great standard of the United 
States. At the conclusion of the procession, the car of Tam- 
many and Columbus moved up to the head of the line and 
the two patrons were presented to the Genius of America, 
who descended from the pedestal to receive them. 70 

The bucktail, regarded as a talisman of liberty by the 
earlier Tammany Societies, was adopted by the New York 
Society as its emblem; and the regulations provided that it 
should be a part of the insignia 71 worn on all public occa- 
sions. It seems to have borne a superstitious character as 
a token o{ good luck, and was long considered the appro- 
priate badge of a hunter. With this significance in mind, 
the original votaries of Tammany in Philadelphia, members 
of the Schuylkill hunting and fishing clubs, employed it in 
their ceremonies. The tradition of the bucktail, however, 
is not indigenous to the American Colonies, but was prob- 
ably known to the yeomanry of England in the days of 
archery, for it received the recognition of early English 
poets and dramatists. The following characteristic lines 
taken from a hunting song are attributed to Ben Jonson : 

Hail, hail, hail! 
Thou honest Bucktail, 
The tail of the Buck 
Is a sign of good luck 
Then hail, hail, hail! 
To the merry bucktail. 

The importance accorded to this symbolism in the Society 
is illustrated by its recognition among the toasts offered 
at the banquets. The following toast to the bucktail was 
drunk at the celebration of May 12, 1819 : 72 " The Amer- 



148 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

ican Bucktail of Tammany; an emblem of liberty honored 
by our ancestors — May it sweep from our soil the last ves- 
tige of unchastened ambition." 

So prominent was the display of the bucktail in all Tam- 
manial pageants that its wearers were popularly known as 
" Bucktails," and the political faction of which the Tam- 
many Society was the nucleus was called the Bucktail Party. 
The name was applied in a spirit of political satire, and the 
party was the butt of gibes and caustic criticism by its 
adversaries. 73 Even poets who celebrated the Society in 
verse were contemptuously dubbed " Bucktail bards." 74 

Chroniclers of the early history of the Tammany Society 
in New York have apparently overlooked the evolution of 
its present name. The Society is first called to our atten- 
tion on April 30, 1787, under the name of St. Tammany's 
Society; 75 while, in the press notices of the following day, 
the possessive is omitted and the name is printed St. Tarn- 
many Society. 76 On May 12, 1789, in a notice signed by 
William Tapp, secretary pro tempore, the name again ap- 
pears as St. Tammany's Society, 77 and in the same notice 
the name Sons of St. Tammany is used ; but the later phrase 
may be merely descriptive. On May 14th of that year, the 
organization in an official notice is called the Society of St. 
Tammany. 78 From these varied designations, employed by 
an officer of the Society within the space of a few days, it 
would seem that the name was not yet definitely fixed. On 
May 24, 1789, however, we find the name assuming for 
the first time the dual character, as St. Tammany's Society 
or Independent Order of Liberty. 79 The first record of the 
adoption of an official title by the Society itself is found in 
the following paragraph of the public constitution, printed 
some time during the year 1789 : " This society shall be 
called and known by the name of Saint Tammany's Society 
or Columbian Order." The Society has also been referred 



OBJECTS 149 

to unofficially as the Sons of St. Tammany or {and) Co- 
lumbian Order, Society of St. Tammany or Columbian 
Order." A radical change in the title appears early in the 
year 1791, when the name Tammany Society or Columbian 
Order was adopted, the word " Saint " being dropped from 
the appellation, or as Pintard expressed it, " We have lately 
uncanonized him." 80 

By an act of the legislature of the State of New York, 
passed April 8, 1805, and which went into effect February 
24, 1807, the Society was incorporated and its title legally 
and permanently established as The Society of Tammany 
or Columbian Order in the City of New York. 81 While the 
title was thus legally determined in 1805, it is to be observed, 
however, that in the last decade of the 19th century, and at 
times even in these days, the Society is frequently called 
Tammany Society or Columbian Order. 

Among the chapters or 'branches established in various 
cities throughout the United States, the name of the parent 
body does not seem to have been closely followed. In Rhode 
Island the chapter was known as the Tammany Society or 
Columbian Order; 82 in Virginia as the Sons of St. Tam- 
many in the Columbian Order; 83 while in Kentucky it was 
called Sons of Tammany or Brethren in the Columbian 
Order; 84 and in Ohio and Washington, D. C, The Tam- 
many Society. 85 This diversity of titles led to dissatisfac- 
tion among the several branches of the Order, which was 
voiced in a resolution adopted by the Washington Chapter 
on April 7, 1809, 86 directing the committee on correspond- 
ence to negotiate with the sister societies, " On the exist- 
ing differences between the old and new titles," looking 
to the establishment of uniformity in name. 87 No record, 
however, is available to show that this purpose was 
accomplished. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 

1. The American Commonwealth (3d edition, New York, 
1901), 11:379. 

2. The History of Political Parties in the State of New 
York (Albany, 1842), by Jabez Hammond, 1:340. 

3. New York Gazetteer, Jan. 27, 1786, p. 124. 

4. John Pintard was born in New York, May 18, 1759. His 
parents died when he was very young, and committed him 
to the care of his uncle Lewis, who gave him an excellent edu- 
cation and business training. During the early years of the 
Revolution, Pintard occupied the post of Deputy Commissary 
of Prisoners, in New York City ; and later took up a residence 
at Paramus, N. J. Here he met Eliza Brasher, who became 
his wife. After the treaty of peace he returned to New York 
and engaged in business. His social and political activities 
made him a leader in all the movements of the day. His 
career was almost blighted by the failure of William Duer, 
for whom Pintard had endorsed notes for upward of a million 
dollars. This accomplished his financial ruin, and he spent 
thirteen months in a debtor's cell at Newark. Later he took 
advantage of the insolvency act, and proceeded to rehabilitate 
his fortunes. His great personal popularity and ability secured 
for him the position of clerk to the Corporation of the City 
of New York from 1804 to 1810. 

Pintard was the father of the movement for the foundation 
of historical societies and museums of natural history in this 
country, the New York Historical Society, which he person- 
ally organized in 1804, standing to-day as the most notable 
monument to his work. He was a trustee of the New York 
Society Library and a prominent advocate of the free school 
system. Up to the time of his death, on June 21, 1844, he 
was actively interested in various charitable, educational, liter- 
ary, and commercial movements in New York City. 

See: John Pintard, Founder of the New York Historical 
Society (New York, 1902), by Gen. James Grant Wilson; 
Biographical Sketch of John Pintard (n.p., n.d.), by Walter 

150 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 151 

Barrett, Clerk; History of the New York Society Library 
(New York, 1908), by Austin Baxter Keep, Ph. D., pp. 217- 
219. 

5. Munsey's Magazine (New York), Vol. XXIV, No. 1, 
p. 58. 

6. New York Packet, Tuesday, May 1, 1787. 

7. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 3, 1787 ; 
the same article appeared in the New York Packet, May 4, 
1787; New York Daily Advertiser, May 4, 1787; and New 
York Independent Journal, May 5, 1787. 

8. Hammond (as cited), p. 340, states that the Society was 
organized shortly after the peace of 1783. 

9. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 14, 1789 ; 
New York Daily Gazette, May 14, 1789; New York Daily 
Advertiser, May 14, 1789. 

10. New York Daily Advertiser, July 15, 1805. 

11. Thomas F. Smith, Esq., Secretary of the Society, in a 
letter dated December 8, 1910, made the following reply to 
a request by the author for permission to examine the records 
of the Society : " I regret that it is impracticable to comply 
with your request for many reasons, principally because our 
constitution and by-laws prohibit us from giving a copy of 
them to anybody, the same rule applying to letting any one 
have copies of the records and papers, which you requested." 

12. New York Daily Gazette, May 14, 15, 1789. 

13. Published by Hodge, Allen & Campbell and issued about 
May 24, each year; Gaine's New York Pocket Almanack for 
1789. 

14. The Tammanial Laws, forms and ritualistic imitations 
were slowly evolved. On June 25, 1810, William Mooney, 
as chairman of the Committee on Correspondence, certified to 
the Tammany Society or Columbian Order, Beaver Tribe 
No. 4 of the State or No. 1 of the Island of Nassau, the 
ritual and forms in use by the New York Society, together 
with the date of their adoption. These have been preserved 
in manuscript and are now in the possession of O. B. Ackerly, 
New York City. The dates of the adoption of the Laws are 



152 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

given as follows : I. Duties of the Secretary, August 24, 1789 ; 
II. Duties of the Treasurer, August 31, 1789; III. Forms of 
Initiation, September 5, 1789, amended February 1, 1796; 
IV. Preservation of the Arcana of Tammany, September 8, 
1789; V. Dates of Regular and Stated Meetings, September 
14, 1789; VI. Regulations and Dates for the Delivery of Long 
Talks, September 14, 1789; VII. Reorganization of the Ju- 
diciary Department and the Appointment of Censors, October 
26, 1789; VIII. Formula for the Inauguration of Sachems, 
November 2, 1789; IX. Impeachment of Officers, December 
7, 1789; X. Selection of Badges and Duties of the Sagamore, 
January 11, 1790; XL Regulations for the Celebration of 
Independence Day, April 18, 1791 ; XII. Form of Testimonials 
for Deceased Members ; XIII. Duties and Powers of the Com- 
mittee on Amusement, October 24, 1791, amended February 
1, 1796, and again on November 1, 1796; XIV. Certificate of 
Fellowship, December 26, 1791 ; XV. Form of Dispensation 
to Subordinate Branches, July 6, 1795 ; XVI. Forms for Tam- 
manial Fellowship and Certificate of Brotherhood, December 
7, 1795; XVII. Duty of Door Keeper, December 21, 1795; 
XVIII. Regulations for Anniversary Celebrations, November 
7, 1796; XIX. Regulations for Dividing the Membership into 
Tribes, January 12, 1797; XX. Forms for the Presentation 
of Candidates for Membership, February 29, 1800, amended 
May 4, 1801 ; XXL Fixing the Pay of the Secretary. 

15. Constitution, Public, of the Society of St. Tammany, 
New York, MDCCLXXXIX, printed by Thomas Greenleaf. 

16. On this date Pintard wrote to Belknap (see page 136), 
stating that the word " Saint " had been lately dropped from 
the name of the Society, and in the Public Constitution the 
name is given with the word " Saint " omitted. 

17. Constitutions of the Tammany Society or Columbian 
Order (New York), printed by John Harrison. 

18. Myers as cited, p. 1 ; Hammond as cited, 1 :340 ; The 
Story of Tammany, by Rufus Home, in Harper's New 
Monthly Magazine, XLIV April, 1878), p. 689. 

19. New York Directory and Register for 1789, 1790. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 153 

20. New York Daily Advertiser, June 14, 1786. 

21. New York as it was, during the latter part of the Last 
Century (New York, 1849), by William Alexander Duer, 
LL.D., p. 25. 

22. William Mooney was Sachem almost continuously from 
1789 to 1827; Father of the Council during the years 1796- 
1797, 1799-1800, 1807-1808, and Grand Sachem for the periods 
of 1789-1790, 1797-1798, 1801-1802, 1811-1813. He was chair- 
man of the Committee on Correspondence, and his name fre- 
quently appears as chairman of the Committee of Arrange- 
ments on the important celebrations held under the auspices 
of the Society. In this position he had charge of the celebra- 
tion held in New York City in 1804 to commemorate the 
Louisiana Purchase ; he also conducted the ceremonies at the 
laying of the corner-stone and the dedication of the vault to 
the prison-ship martyrs at the Wallabout in April and May, 
1808. He was chairman of the committee that planned the 
ceremonies for the laying of the corner-stone of the first Tam- 
many Hall, on May 12, 1811. In 1805 his name headed the 
petition presented to the legislature of the State of New York 
to incorporate the Society. See notes 28 and 56. 

23. Accounts of Tammany Society or Columbian Order, 
Rhode Island. List of Members and General Rules of Order 
observed by the Society in 1810. (MS. in Rhode Island His- 
torical Society, Providence, R. I.) 

24. MS. Minutes of the Common Council of the City of 
New York, XX :376-392. 

25. The report of the committee reads in part : " On the com- 
parison of the articles consumed for those two years the Com- 
mittee will observe with regret that the greatest increase has 
taken place in the consumption of those articles which are 
used as the gratification of luxury or intemperance while the 
use of some articles which might contribute to the comfort 
of the sick or feeble has been diminished or discontinued. . . . 
The quantity of rum consumed in the later year is more than 
double that in the former; that of gin is six times and that 
of brandy four times as much as in the former years." MS. 



154 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New York, 
Oct. 30, 1809. 

26. " The name of Charles Carroll will lose nothing of its 
purity and worth, if we should write under it that of William 
Mooney, the only surviving founder of the Tammany So- 
ciety, and first among all of those patriotic men, who gave the 
impress of his name to its constitution. This venerable man 
must have been born a Democrat; for surely if unwearied 
zeal, untiring perseverance and a holy devotion to the cause 
of national liberty, did ever make up one entire character in 
man, it is to be found in him. Live on, Old Man ! live on thou 
first of the Tammanities ! live in the winter of your day 
supremely blest, for the Great Spirit has smiled upon you ; he 
has given you a wonderful and a still unceasing country to 
look upon and permit to you the proud privilege of exclaim- 
ing — towards all this did I zealously contribute." Oration 
delivered at Tammany Hall on the twelfth May 1831, being 
the forty-second Anniversary of the Tammany Society or 
Columbian Order by Myer Moses, a member of said society 
(New York, 1831), p. 12. 

27. Rhode Island American (Newport), Oct. 24, 1809. 

28. The Columbian (New York), May 11, 1811. 

29. New York Directory and Register, 1789-1800; Gaine's 
New-York Pocket Almanack, 1790-1807 ; Ming's United States 
Register and New- York Pocket Almanac, 1808; New York 
Evening Post, July 5, 1813; National Advocate (New York), 
Feb. 23, 1819, May 14, 1825 ; American Citizen and General 
Advertiser, May 12, 1804, April 9, 1808 ; The Columbian, May 
11, 1811; National Cyclopaedia of American Biography, 
111:376; Home as cited, p. 685 et seq.; Myers as cited, pp. 
1, 14, 29, 41, 63, 102; Blake as cited, p. 18 et seq.; Horton as 
cited, Chapter II. 

30. Belknap Papers, 11:157; Proceedings of the Mass. Hist. 
Society, I :vi, xv. 

31. Belknap Papers, 11:231. 

32. Ibid., 11:237. 

33. Ibid., 111:469. 

34. Ibid., Ill :490. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 155 

35. Pintard had in mind the New York Magazine or Literary 
Repository, for in this letter he states : " To tie myself down 
in some measure to the study of our annals, I have assumed 
the task of drawing up a kind of American Chronology which 
appears monthly at the end of the New York Magazine, 
with a view also of contributing my mite towards the support 
of a periodical publication of that nature in our City." 

36. Proceedings of the Mass. Hist. Soc, Dec. 27, 1791, 1:28. 

37. In his letter of April 6, 1791, he tells Belknap: "My 
avocations, especially as a citizen, are numerous, and I can 
seldom steal a moment for private or literary correspond- 
ence. . . . My passion for American History increases, 
tho' I have but detached moments and scant means of gratify- 
ing it." He nevertheless found time to aid Belknap in ad- 
vancing the interests of the Mass. Historical Society, and, 
in a letter to him dated April 12, 1791 (Belknap Papers, 
111:493), he writes: "I also received the proposals for the 
American Apollo. I think it a good thing, and will forward 
it all in my power. I have obtained twenty subscribers and 
hope to do better." In another letter to Belknap (Belknap 
Papers, 111:470), Pintard shows his eager interest in the 
Tammany Society in the following words : " I am obliged 
to you for the offer respecting the coins. I must decline it, 
however, as I know not how far indulging a turn that way 
may lead. Should there be anything in Dr. Byles' Library 
in the book way suitable to the intentions of our Society, I 
would engage the Trustees of our Museum to give an order 
for purchasing them, if I could know what the articles and 
their cost were." 

38. Historical Magazine (New York), 1:211 ; the letter was 
subsequently read before the New York Historical Society, 
June 2, 1857. 

39. Columbian Celebration of 1792, the First in the United 
States : An Address before the New York Historical Society, 
Oct. 4, 1892, by Edward F. De Lancey (New York, 1893), 
pp. 1-7: The Life of Thomas Paine (New York, 1892), by 
Moncure D. Conway, 11:231: " John Pintard, thus outdone 



156 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

by Paine in politeness, founded the Tammany Society, and 
organized the Democratic Party " ; Walter Barrett, Clerk, as 
cited. 

40. New York Directory and Register for 1789, 1790. 

41. New York Magazine or Literary Repository, 1:290-295. 

42. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Aug. 10, 1790. 

43. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Feb. 4, 1795 ; 
New York Daily Advertiser, Feb. 4, 1795. 

44. Address of the Society of Tammany, or Columbian 
Order, to its absent members and the members of its several 
branches throughout the United States (New York, 1819). 

45. Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, May 14, 1831. 

46. Tammany Hall, A Sketch of its History (New York, 
1893), by Nelson Smith; "Tammany," an oration delivered 
Feb. 13, 1902, by William Sulzer; Westervelt as cited. 

47. The colloquy between the Scribe of the Society and one 
of the Chiefs of the Oneidas is reported as follows in the New 
York Weekly Museum, Feb. 20, 1790: 

"After they were seated the scribe of the Grand Council 
addressed them in substance as follows : 

" ' Sago, Sago, brothers : 

" ' It gives us great pleasure to see you here, and you are 
greatly welcome into our wigwam; we have formed ourselves 
into a band of fellowship in order to receive you. 

" ' This society is formed to promote good will and friendly 
intercourse between you and us. We have adopted many of 
your customs. We wish also that you would adopt some of 
ours. This will tend to strengthen the union — you see the 
ornaments made use of here are something in the fashion of 
your own, and we are now ready to mingle the smoke of 
friendship from our calumet of peace. . . . We shall strive 
to keep the tomahawk buried forever/ 

" One of the Seniors [a chief] replied: ' Brothers, Sachems 
and Warriors : We have heard your voice, giving us a most 
hearty welcome into your wigwam. You have told us of the 
original design of your society — that it is to keep in remem- 
brance the friendship that subsisted betwixt our ancestors at 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 157 

their first meeting in our Island (i. e., America). Every ap- 
pearance in this assembly seems instantly to brighten the chain 
and bring up to our view our respective ancestors in full coun- 
cil smoking their pipes in peace. . . .' 

" ' The institution of this society, and present appearances 
will sufficiently authorize us to impart to your Chief Sachem 
the name of Odaght-Seghte, which was given to our first 
Sachem on this island, and has been sacredly preserved. It 
signifies one who carries the quiver, or supports the arrows. 
By this let your Chief Sachem henceforth be distin- 
guished. . . / " 

48. The following excerpt, from The Aurora (Phila.), May 
14, 1808, is typical of the impression entertained by many of 
those who wrote even a few decades after the founding of the 
Society : 

" Under the name of Cincinnatus, an institution was reared 
which threatened the establishment of an hereditary aristoc- 
racy; some humorists among the sachems of the Society of 
Tammany gave to this body the super-name of Columbian 
Order, and by the adoption of ensignia, sought to bring on 
the floor of equality an order which threatened to rear itself 
up on the ruin of the equal principles fought for in the 
revolution. 

" The Cincinnati, in consequence of the vigorous exposi- 
tion of its dangerous tendency by yEdanus Burke, has ceased 
to be pernicious or alarming, and the emblems of the Tam- 
many Society, which were intended to laugh the vanity of 
hereditary honors out of countenance, remain as innocent me- 
morials of their origin, and ensigns by which the unison of 
tribes, upon the principle of the revolution is to be maintained 
— union and harmony on the sound principles of democracy are 
its tenets — apostacy and perfidy to the cause of the causes of 
the people are the causes of exclusion." 

See Westervelt as cited ; Home as cited ; Myers as cited, p. 5. 

49. Private Journal of William Maclay, United States Sen- 
ator from Pennsylvania in the First Congress, 1789-1791. 
Printed in the New York Sun, March 30, July 6, 1890. Maclay 



158 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

was born in New Garden Township, Pennsylvania, July 20, 
1737, of rugged Irish parentage. He was admitted to the 
bar in New York in 1760. He was a member of the Pennsyl- 
vania Assembly in 1781 and afterwards became Judge of the 
Court of Common Pleas ; later he was appointed Deputy Sur- 
veyor of the State. In January, 1789, he was elected Senator 
from Pennsylvania and drew the short term. He jotted down 
with critical care his observations and experiences in the Sen- 
ate, and his caustic remarks throw a new and interesting light 
on the personalities of his colleagues. In 1795 he was again 
elected to the Assembly in Pennsylvania. He died at Harris- 
burg, April 16, 1804. 

50. In 1787 the Order of the Cincinnati was referred to in 
the public prints as " that illustrious Institution." General 
Advertiser (New York), July 4, 5, 1787. 

51. The following toasts drunk at their banquets demon- 
strate the friendly feelings that the Societies entertained to- 
ward each other: 

By the Tammany Society: 

1790, May 12: "Our brethren the Warriors who compose 
the Cincinnati of the State of New York, may the Calumet of 
Peace, now presented to their chief, be accepted as a pledge of 
an everlasting Friendship! (Here the Sagamore presented a 
calumet of Peace to Baron Steuben, the President of the New 
York Cincinnati, on the part of the Sons of St. Tammany or 
Columbian Order, as a pledge of their wish to cultivate an 
everlasting friendship between the two national societies.)" 

1791, Feb. 22: "The Society of Cincinnati." 

1791, May 12: " Our brethren of the Cincinnati — May they 
and the memory of their fellow chiefs and warriors, whose 
patriotic blood enriched their native soil, be ever dear to 
American freemen." 

1792, May 12: "The Cincinnati and those heroes who fell 
in defense of the liberties of our country." 

1792, July 4: "The Cincinnati and the memory of their 
brothers who fell in the cause of liberty." 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 159 

1793, Feb. 23: " Cincinnatus and the Plough — May our 
citizens be soldiers and our soldiers citizens." 

By the Order of the Cincinnati: 

1793, July 4 : " The Tammany Society " — (New York Jour- 
nal and Patriotic Register, May 14, 1790; Feb. 24, 1791; May 
14, 1791; May 16, 1792; July 7, 1792; Feb. 23, 1793; July 
6, 1793.) 

52. William Tapp, Secretary pro tempore of the Tammany 
Society in 1789, was a member of the Cincinnati, as was 
Marinus VVillet a prominent member of the Tammany Society. 

53. The Tammany Society extended an invitation to the 
Cincinnati to participate in the anniversary of May 12, 1790. 
" From Church, the society marched to Brother Campbell's 
at Greenwich — where they partook of an elegant entertain- 
ment, to which his excellency, the Governor, the Mayor, and 
the principal officers of the Cincinnati were invited." Gazette 
of the United States, May 15, 1790. The Cincinnati returned 
the compliment on July 4, 1791, and invited the officers of 
the Tammany Society to its banquet. " The Grand Sachem 
and Father of the Council of the St. Tammany's Society were 
honored with an invitation to dinner by the members of the 
Cincinnati and the evening was spent with that mental good 
humor and joy, which it is hoped will ever be the concomitants 
of a day so remarkable in the annals of America." Gazette 
of the United States, July 7, 1791. 

54. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Feb. 24, 
1791 : The occasion was the celebration of Washington's 
Birthday by the Cincinnati on February 22, 1791 ; and the event 
is chronicled in the New York Daily Advertiser, Feb. 23, 1791, 
in these words: " Before they [the Cincinnati] rose from the 
table, they received a polite message from the Society of St. 
Tammany by the father of the Council of Sachems, and 
brothers Melancthon Smith and John Pintard, congratulating 
them, in behalf of the society, on the return of this anniver- 
sary; to which the president made a handsome complimentary 



160 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

55. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 12, 14. 
1790. 

56. Laws of the State of New York, 1805, Chapter 115. The 
preamble of the Act reads : "An Act to incorporate the Society 
of Tammany, or Columbian Order, in the City of New York. 
Passed April 9, 1805. 

" Whereas, William Mooney and other inhabitants of the 
City of New York have presented a petition to the Legislature, 
setting forth that they, since the year 1789, have associated 
themselves under the name and description of the Society of 
Tammany, or Columbian Order, for the purpose of affording 
relief to the indigent and distressed members of the said asso- 
ciation, their widows and orphans, and others who may be 
found proper objects of their charity, they therefore solicit 
that the Legislature will be pleased by law to incorporate the 
said society for the purposes aforesaid, under such limitations 
and restrictions as to the Legislature shall seem meet." 

57. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 5, 1791. 

58. National Advocate (New York), May 13, 1825. 

59. The American Nation, a history (New York, 1906), ed- 
ited by A. B. Hart, 111:105; Irish Builders of the American 
Nation, by Rev. Madison C. Peters; The Causes that led to 
Irish Emigration, by James Fitzgerald in Journal of American 
Irish Historical Society, X:114; The Scotch Irish (New 
York, 1902), by Charles Hanna, 11:6. 

60. Letter from James Logan, quoted in History of North- 
ampton, Lehigh, Monroe, Schuylkill and Carbon Counties, 
Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, 1845), pp. 16-18. In 1730 the 
Irish immigrants seized Conestago Manor, Pennsylvania, say- 
ing : " It is against the laws of God and Nature that so much 
land should be idle, while so many Christians wanted it to 
labor in and to raise their bread." Ibid., p. 20. 

61. Journal of American Irish Historical Society, X:356; 
Irish-American Historical Miscellany relating largely to New 
York City and vicinity (New York, 1905), by John D. Crim- 
mins. The increase in immigration at this period became so 
marked that it attracted newspaper attention, and in the New 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 161 

York Journal and Patriotic Register, Oct. 15, 1790, we notice 
the following interesting comment : 

" The ship Betsy Rook, arrived on the 6th inst. at Wilming- 
ton, Delaware, from Londonderry, in Ireland. This vessel 
brought in a large number of Irish immigrants, some of them 
people of property, who, weary of the patronage of their old 
tutelar St. Patrick, have come to settle themselves and their 
posterity in America under the more liberal auspices of St. 
Tammany/' 

62. The rules of eligibility for membership were prescribed 
in the New York Daily Gazette, May 12, 1790, as follows : 

" The Society of St. Tammany being a national society, 
consists of American born, who fill all offices, and adopted 
Americans, who are eligible to the honorary posts of warrior 
and hunter." See New York Directory and Register for 
1789, 1790. 

It is evident that the intention was to keep the society strictly 
within the control of native-born Americans, and little lati- 
tude was allowed for the admission of aliens to influence and 
power, by the provision for the eligibility of " adopted Amer- 
icans " to the posts of warrior and hunter, which were empty 
titles. 

63. Bryce as cited, II :379 et seq.; Myer as cited, pp. 54, 160. 
From 1835 to 1845, Irish immigration again received a great 
stimulus. Driven from their native land by potato famines 
and general failure of crops, they migrated to the United 
States in great numbers. 

64. The hostility exhibited by the press toward this feature 
of the Tammany Society of Philadelphia is aptly illustrated 
in the following criticism printed in Freeman's Journal, April 
10, 1805 : 

" It was now not necessary to be an American to become 
a Son of Tammany, for the magic yell of the Wiskinky, so 
savage was it, could convert the Sons of Erin into Aborigines 
of the American wilds, though the sun of America had not 
yet warmed them to their hearts. Patriots who had avowedly 
fled their native soil to find safety in this, and who proposed 



162 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

to return to their homes when it should no longer be a hanging 
matter, were, by the virtue of the tomahawk, dubb'd savages 
of the first order. Men who could not, under our laws, be 
citizens for years, readily found seats in this honorable body, 
where the influence over the elective franchise has been greater 
than in any other known association in this country. Instances 
of rejected applicants may have occurred; but when they did, 
the rejected candidate merited his fate. We now find the 
order assuming quite new features and the descendants of 
Kilbuck conversing in a transatlantic tongue. A learned 
stranger would not have been esteemed ridiculous, if, upon, 
invitation in this body, he had pronounced, that the ancient 
language of Ireland was that of the aborigines of America. 

" We have no intention to reflect upon the Irish as a nation 
— we sympathize with them as an oppressed and esteem them 
as a brave people ; but we take the liberty of feeling as national 
as themselves ; and though on proper occasions we would not 
hesitate to join the hands of St. Patrick and St. Tammany, 
yet we feel a conscious rectitude, when we aver, that no one 
man can, at the same time, be of both families. There can 
be no solid objection against an association of citizens of dif- 
ferent nations, if their views are aught besides political ; but 
considering politics to be the main spring of the St. Tammany 
Society, it was highly improper to admit aliens.'' 

65. The Washington Society made every effort to conciliate 
the offended members, and at a meeting held July 7, 1808, 
" Resolved, that all expressions or conduct calculated to foment 
divisions, or excite unreasonable distrust and jealousies be- 
tween the native and adopted citizens who are members of 
this Society, ought to be carefully avoided ; and that the So- 
ciety will discountenance and repel all attempts that may be 
made to introduce the demon of discord into its wigwam." 
Notwithstanding the efforts of the Society for harmony, how- 
ever, the dissatisfaction continued, and resignations so depleted 
the roll of membership that on March 2, 1810, a committee 
was appointed to " recommend the adoption of such meas- 
ures as, in their opinion, will tend to re-organize the institu- 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 163 

lion and place it on a permanent basis." The preamble to the 
report of the committee clearly shows the desperate straits 
in which the Society found itself : " That, in consequence of 
unfounded pretensions or erroneous impressions, all members 
of foreign birth, except two, have withdrawn from the Society, 
by which its number is now reduced to about twenty resident 
members." The Society struggled along for a few months, 
and then quietly ceased its activities. MS. Minutes of the 
Tammany Society of the City of Washington (now in the 
possession of Wendolin Buole, Chevy Chase, Md.). 

66. Public Advertiser, Aug. 19, 1811; National Advocate, 
May 10, 1817; Commercial Advertiser, Nov. 23, 1835; Myers 
as cited, p. 54. 

67. Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, May 14, 1831. 
This feature of the New York Tammany Society is character- 
istically illustrated in the following sentence by Richard C. 
Adams (Letter to the author, dated April 4, 1910) : "Ask 
an Irishman and he will probably tell you that St. Tammany 
was a younger brother of St. Patrick who emigrated to Amer- 
ica for the purpose of taking a city contract to drive all Re- 
publican reptiles out of New York." 

68. The following toasts have been drunk by the Tammany 
Societies to the honor of St. Tammany and Columbus : 

1790, May: "The Memory of Columbus and our adven- 
turous Forefathers who first planted the standard of Free- 
dom on the Western Shores." 

1791, Feb. 22: " The 12th of May, being the birthday of St. 
Tammany, our Titular Saint and Patron." 

1791, May 12: "The memory of the Renowned Columbus 
— May our latest posterity inherit the goodly land which his 
intrepidity explored, and his sagacity discovered." 

1792, Oct. 12: "The memory of Christopher Columbus, 
the Discoverer of this New World." 

1795, May 12: "Kind and Hospitable Tammany — May 
nations who boast of civilization and refinement like him re- 
ceive the friendless stranger to their bosom, and may the chain 



164 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

of beneficence and affection be extended until it encompass 
the habitable globe." 

1810, Feb. 22: (at Providence, R. I.) " Tammany— May his 
sons imitate his patriotism, love of freedom and virtue." 

1811, May 12: (at New York), " The Patrons of our order 
— Tammany and Columbus, their virtue and patriotism will 
always be held in grateful remembrance by every friend of 
Liberty and the rights of Man." 

May 12: (at Newport, R. I.) " The Birth of Tammany, the 
illustrious Patron of the Order of Columbus." 

1812, July 4: (at Newport, R. I.) "The illustrious Tam- 
many — Blush ye schools of Art for Tammany was the Child 
of Nature." 

1819, May 12 : " Tammany and Columbus, the patrons of 
our envied order — Prosperity to the day we celebrate." 

1822, July 4: (at Wilkes-Barre, Penna., by a Company of 
Citizens) " The Memory of Tamanend, the true titular Saint 
of America — May our Tammany Societies imitate his virtues 
and practice fewer of the savage customs of his countrymen." 

1831, May 12: "Tammany and Columbus, Patrons of our 
Order — The great spirit has long since called them hence: 
their memory and patriotic virtues live in posterity." 

(New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Feb. 25, May 

14, 1790; Feb. 24, May 14, 1791; Oct. 12, 1792; New York 
Daily Advertiser, May 13, 1795 ; Providence Phenix, Provi- 
dence, R. I., Feb. 24, 1810; Public Advertiser, New York, 
May 15, 1811 ; Rhode Island Republican, Newport, R. I., May 

15, 1811, July 11, 1812; National Advocate, New York, May 
13, 1819; Susquehanna Democrat, Wilkes-Barre, Penna., July 
12, 1822 ; Morning Courier and New- York Enquirer, May 14, 
1831. For toasts to Tammany prior to 1789, see pp. 93, 96. 

69. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Aug. 10, 1790. 

70. American Citizen (New York), July 4, 1810, July 2, 
1812; The Columbian (New York), May 10, 1811. 

71. The official notice for the ceremonies to be held July 4, 
1791, contained the following: " N. B. It is expected, the 
members of the Society will appear with a buck's tail in their 



NOTES TO CHAPTER III 165 

hats by way of distinction " ; and, in the celebration of July 
4, 1822, the members were requested to appear " Wearing the 
distinguished badge of the institution [the buck tail] in the 
front of their hats." New York Journal and Patriotic Regis- 
ter, July 2, 1791 ; National Advocate, New York, July 3, 1822. 

72. National Advocate, New York, May 13, 1819. At this 
celebration another toast was also drunk to the Bucktail : 

" The Bucktail — simbolical emblem of Liberty ; the aborig- 
inal ancestors of Tammany used it, and by him it was trans- 
ferred down to the present time. 

"As free and agile as the deer 
Nor foe, nor element we fear." 

73. " The Bucktail has of late years become in America, an 
emblem of the most rancorous, atrocious, malignant and 
bloody-minded Jacobinism." 

The State Triumvirate, by Brevet-Major Pindar Puff 
(Gulian C. Verplanck), New York, 1819, p. 213. 

74. " The Buck-tail Bards " included among others Fitz- 
Greene Halleck, William Leggett, and Philip Freneau. 

75. New York Daily Advertiser, April 30, 1787. 

76. New York Packet, May 1, 1787. 

77. New York Daily Advertiser, May 12, 1789. 

78. New York Daily Gazette, May 14, 15, 1789. 

79. New York Directory and Register for 1789. 

80. This was some time between Feb. 22, 1791, and April 6, 
1791, when Pintard wrote, for on Feb. 22, 1791, it was called 
the " Society of Saint Tammany or Columbian Order." (New 
York Journal and Patriotic Register, Feb. 24, 1791 ; Belknap 
Papers, 111:490.) 

81. Laws of the State of New York 1805, Chapter 115. 

82. Providence Phenix, Providence, R. L, Oct. 7, 1809. 

83. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 19, 1792. 

84. Kentucky Gazette, Lexington, Ky., Dec. 2, 1816. 

85. MS. correspondence James Madison and Thomas Jeffer- 
son, Library of Congress. 



166 ORIGIN OF THE SOCIETY OF TAMMANY 

86. MS. Minutes of the Tammany Society of Washington 
City. 

87. The dual character of the name has been explained in 
various ways. One writer states : " Some humorists among 
the sachems of the Society of Tammany gave to this body the 
super-name of Columbian Order." See note 48; Albert 
Matthews in a letter to Sir James Murray, dated Jan. 15, 
1910, is of the opinion that the phrase " Columbian Order " 
was adopted not in honor of Columbus, the second Patron of 
the Society, but because of the distinctively American char- 
acter of the Tammany Societies. His words are: 

" The early St. Tammany Societies were distinctly Amer- 
ican, and this also was a distinctive feature of the New York 
Tammany Society. Now down to 1765 the American Col- 
onists spoke of the colonies collectively as 'America,' as you 
in England have always done and still do. But about 1765 
the word ' Columbia ' came into use here, though not often 
met with until the Revolution was well under way. During 
the last two decades of the 18th Century, however, the word 
' Columbia ' and the terms l Sons of Columbia, ' Columbians ' 
and ' Columbian ' (adjective) became so common that at one 
time it looked as if the word ' Columbia ' might be adopted 
as the name for the nation. It seems to me possible, there- 
fore, that the word ' Columbian ' in ' Columbian Order ' may 
have been added where twenty years before or twenty years 
later 'American ' w r ould have been used." The correspondence 
of Pintard, the customs and celebrations of the Society, and 
the various toasts offered by it to the memory of Columbus 
clearly demonstrate that " Columbian Order " was added to 
the name in honor of Columbus, and not because it connoted 
a distinctively American idea. 



CHAPTER IV 

Early Activities of the Society 

1. Receptions to the Indians 

After its reorganization in 1789, the Society rapidly 
gained a place of prominence in the social and patriotic 
activities of the city. Its growth was favored by the broad- 
ening metropolitan life of what was then the nation's capi- 
tal; and its functions attracted the attention and received 
the recognition of men prominent in municipal, state and 
national affairs. Substantial and distinguished citizens were 
attracted to its membership; and so noted were its public 
ceremonials and pageants that the whole city was accus- 
tomed to view them with genuine pride. 

New York at this time was a place of moderate size. 
In 1790 the population of the county of New York, includ- 
ing the city of New York and the several towns and 
villages located on the Island of Manhattan, comprised 
little more than 33,000 souls. Greenwich Village, located 
in the neighborhood of Christopher Street, was then a re- 
mote suburb of the city; while the surrounding counties of 
Kings, Queens, Westchester and Richmond were sparsely 
settled. During the next decade, how r ever, the population 
nearly doubled, and the city grew rapidly in commercial 
and industrial importance. 1 With this growth the Society 
kept pace, enlarging its membership and extending its in- 
fluence commensurately. 

Early in its career the Society reaped a rich harvest in 
prestige and extended notice by the performance of signal 
public service in conciliating the Indian plenipotentiaries 

167 



168 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

who came to New York to treat with the National Govern- 
ment. This role had 'been played to advantage by the 
Philadelphia Tammany Society in 1786, when it entertained 
Cornplanter; 2 and the incident was doubtless a precedent 
for the activities of the New York Society in this direction. 
On Monday evening, February 15, 1790, the Society ten- 
dered a reception to the sachems and warriors of the Oneida 
Nation, who at that time were visiting New York to confer 
with Governor Clinton and President Washington. The 
evening was spent in cordial sociability; punch and wine 
were served, and complimentary toasts exchanged between 
the Oneidas and the Sachems of the Society. Columbian 
songs were rendered and speeches delivered, renewing vows 
of friendship between the Society and the tribe ; and, as the 
Oneidas took their leave, the Sagamore of the Society " re- 
quested that whenever they came this way, they would call 
at the wigwam; wished them luck in their business with 
the brethren of the Grand Council Fire of our nation, and 
bid them good night." s During the same year, chiefs of 
the Cayuga Indians, who were in New York on official 
business, joined with the Society in its anniversary celebra- 
tion of May 12th. 4 

By its entertainment of the Creek Indians, the Society 
mounted at once to national prominence and secured the 
recognition and esteem of President Washington and of 
Congress. In July, 1790, the chiefs of the Creek Nation, 
led by Colonel Alexander M'Gillivray, 8 came to New York 
for the purpose of concluding a treaty of peace with the 
United States. During the Revolutionary War the Creeks 
joined with the British against the colonists. After the 
treaty of peace was signed, boundary disputes arose between 
the Indians and the southern states, and the Creeks began 
to harass the people of Georgia by conducting a savage 
border warfare. Local efforts to negotiate lasting peace 



RECEPTIONS TO THE INDIANS 169 

between the state and the Indians were abortive, and finally, 
on January 8, 1790, Governor Edward Telfair requested 
further negotiations with Colonel M'Gillivray, 6 assuring 
him that he desired to invoke the friendly offices of the 
President of the United States to prevent further blood- 
shed. To this request the Colonel replied, on March 30, 
1790: 

We are willing to conclude a peace with you but you must not 
expect extraordinary concessions from us. In order to spare 
future effusion of blood, and to finally determine the war, 
I am willing to concede in some measure, if you are disposed 
to treat on the ground of mutual concession. 

This letter was forwarded by the Governor to President 
Washington, and the Creeks were promptly invited by the 
National Government to attend a conference in New York. 
Colonel Marinus Willett was dispatched as special envoy 
to greet Colonel M'Gillivray and his warriors and to escort 
them to the Capital. 7 The Secretary of War sent a packet 
under direction of Major Stagg to meet the Creeks at Eliza- 
bethtown Point to convoy them to Murray's Wharf, New 
York City. As they passed the Battery, a federal salute 
was fired, which was repeated when they landed. The 
Tammany Society had made elaborate preparations for their 
reception, and at the time scheduled for their arrival (July 
21, 1790) appeared in full regalia to greet them. 

The conspicuous part played by the Society in the wel- 
come to the Creeks is described in the following contem- 
porary account : 8 

Yesterday arrived in this city Colonel Willett, accompanied 
by Colonel McGillivray, with thirty warriors of the Creek and 
Seimonal nations. They embarked at Elizabeth-Town Point 
about 9:00 o'clock, in the morning and landed on Murray's 
wharf about 2 P. M. where they were received by the St. 
Tammany Society who attended on the occasion, attired in the 



170 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

most splendid dresses and other emblems of that respectable 
society. 

The society was drawn up in two files, with the Grand 
Sachem at the head, who welcomed Colonel McGillivray 
ashore; who, with the warriors, marched in the centre of the 
Society, which proceeded through Wall Street. When they 
came opposite the Federal Hall, Col. McGillivray and the 
Warriors saluted the Congress, who were in the front of the 
balcony, and returned the compliment. The procession moved 
on to the Secretary of War's, where the several Warriors 
smoked the calumet of peace, and next proceeded to the Presi- 
dent's, where they were particularly introduced; after which 
they waited on Governor Clinton, still accompanied by the 
Society, who afterwards attended them to the City Tavern, 
where they took up their lodgings during their residence in the 
City. 

During the procession from the place of landing to Broad- 
way, the chiefs sung a peculiar song; this, together with the 
band of music, and the appearance of the troops which pre- 
ceded and closed the line of march, had a very striking effect 
on a numerous concourse of spectators who crowded the 
streets and windows. 

Notwithstanding the immense crowd collected on the oc- 
casion, not the least irregularity or accident happened. About 
four o'clock the St. Tammany Society having formed a circle 
in the rear of the City Tavern, Col. McGillivray made one of 
the chain, when Brother W. P. Smith dismissed the whole in 
the vernacular phrase of the nation, by recommending to the 
Society, in the name of the spirit of the free, to depart in 
peace. 

Too much credit cannot be given to the St. Tammany Soci- 
ety for their cheerful compliance with the intimation given 
them that their attendance on this occasion would be peculiarly 
agreeable. 

The Creeks were then entertained at dinner in the room 
which had been designated as the Wigwam of the Society, 
at the City Tavern. There were present, besides the Creeks, 



RECEPTIONS TO THE INDIANS 171 

General Knox, Secretary of War, the senators and congress- 
men from Georgia, officers of the army, and the officers of 
the Tammany Society. The utmost good humor and con- 
viviality prevailed, and toasts were offered to the establish- 
ment of a strong and lasting friendship between the Creeks 
and the United States. General interest was excited to 
such a degree that an enthusiastic multitude witnessed their 
arrival and the parade that followed. The public concern 
manifested is described in the following contemporary 
comment : " The number of citizens that assembled on the 
landing of Colonel McGillivray has not been equalled since 
the first arrival in this city of the president." The Creeks 
were completely overwhelmed by the ovation which they 
received. 

On Tuesday, August 2, 1790, a conference 10 was held 
between the Tammany Society and the Creeks, attended by 
Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, Gen. Knox, Secre- 
tary of War, John Jay, Chief Justice of the United States, 
George Clinton, Governor of the State of New York, and 
James Duane, Mayor of the City. The utmost cordiality 
and good fellowship prevailed in this distinguished assem- 
blage and the tone of the speeches delivered was compli- 
mentary in the extreme. True to Indian custom, the calu- 
met of peace and friendship was smoked and congratula- 
tions were exchanged upon the felicitous relations between 
the Indian guests and their hosts. The Scribe of the Coun- 
cil, Josiah Ogden Hoffman, presented Colonel M'Gillivray 
with a copy of the Public Constitution of the Society, hand- 
somely inscribed on parchment. Patriotic songs were ren- 
dered and the Indian Chiefs sang and danced, frequently 
expressing their satisfaction with their reception, and their 
desire to continue in peace and amity with the United States. 
The conference, which was open to the public, delighted 
the spectators with its novelty and brilliancy. 



172 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

The friendly spirit with which the Creeks were imbued, 
in the course of their cordial entertainment by the Society, 
undoubtedly mollified their opposition to the whites and, 
despite their distrust, influenced them to make the treaty 
of peace and friendship, which was concluded between the 
United States and the Creek Nation by Gen. Knox, on 
August 7, 1790. The treaty was approved by the President 
and ratified by the Senate on August 13, 1790. By this 
treaty 1X the dispute between the State of Georgia and the 
Creeks, with its savage border warfare, was ended. The 
boundaries were fixed and the Creeks acknowledged the 
United States as their sole protector. This treaty was of 
especial advantage to the United States, 12 and the value of 
the service of the Tammany Society in stimulating a favor- 
able disposition on the part of the Creeks toward the nego- 
tiations cannot be overestimated. 

Myers, 13 in his " History of Tammany Hall," insinuates 
that the Creeks were seduced into signing the treaty by the 
blandishments of the Tammany Society while debauched 
by its banquets. The charge is a gratuitous libel on Presi- 
dent Washington and his cabinet, as well as on the Tam- 
many Society. The circumstances surrounding the nego- 
tiations show that the treaty was consummated with dignity 
and fairness, and that the diplomatic attentions of the Tam- 
many Society to the Creeks assured the Indians that the 
protestations of friendship made by the Government were 
shared by the people at large. As a result, the Creeks dealt 
in a spirit of friendship, quite without that distrust and 
hostility which would otherwise have been expected from 
their bitter struggle with their southern neighbors. 

The removal of the National Capital to Philadelphia, 
and later to Washington, deprived the Society of further 
opportunity to entertain Indian envoys to the Federal Gov- 
ernment, but it maintained its friendly attitude toward 



THE TAMMANY MUSEUM 173 

them, and when in 1811 the Ottaway chiefs passed through 
New York on their way to Washington, the Society enter- 
tained them in its wigwam with all the pomp of its 
ceremonial. 14 

2. The Tammany Museum 

The Society's prestige was further enhanced and its 
respect assured among men of learning by the establishment 
under its auspices of a museum for patriotic mementoes 
and material of historic value. As already indicated, the 
idea originated with John Pintard, who began to promote 
it as early as August 10, 1789. Plans were finally formu- 
lated and the American Museum, under the patronage of 
the Tammany Society or Columbian Order, was established 
in June, 1790, 15 " for the purpose of collecting and pre- 
serving everything relating to the history of America; like- 
wise, every American production of nature or art." On 
September 1, 1790, the Society petitioned the Common 
Council of the City of New York to appropriate a room 
in the City Hall for the Museum. On the following day 
the City Fathers " resolved that they [the Tammany So- 
ciety] may have the use of the upper room in the City Hall 
in front of the Library Room whenever the same shall be 
cleared by the officers of Congress." 1<5 By April 6, 1791, 
the institution had, to use the words of Pintard, "made 
a small progress with a small fund and may possibly suc- 
ceed." It then was possessed of " a tolerable collection of 
pamphlets, mostly modern, with some history." 1T 

On May 21, 1791, 18 the Museum was sufficiently estab- 
lished for the announcement of Tuesdays and Fridays as 
visiting days for the gratification of the public curiosity, 
and its by-laws and regulations were made public. The 
Museum was supported by funds appropriated by the So- 
ciety, while its management was in the hands of a board 



174 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

of seven trustees, of whom Dr. William Pitt Smith was 
chairman, John Pintard, secretary, and Gardiner Baker, 
keeper. On June 1, 1791, the board issued a broadside 
appealing to the public for contributions and support. It 
announced that the collection already accumulated had come 
chiefly from voluntary contributions, and that, " although 
quite in its infancy, the Museum already contains many 
articles in the historical and industrial line, highly deserv- 
ing the notice of the curious . . . and promises fair 
to become an object of public utility." The strict Ameri- 
canism of the institution was modified in the following an- 
nouncement, in which the trustees expressed their willing- 
ness to accept objects of interest, even though not of 
American origin : 

Everything, from whatever clime, will be acceptable; for 
although the funds of the Society are to be confined to Ameri- 
can productions, the doors of the Museum are, nevertheless, 
opened to voluntary contributions from every quarter. 

Names of the benefactors and a description of the arti- 
cles presented were carefully recorded in a book kept for 
that purpose, and it was Pintard's idea that the lists at a 
later date should be published. 19 Members of the Society 
and their friends were admitted to the Museum without 
charge, and, while they had free access to the collection, 
no one was permitted to remove any of the exhibits. 

Under the guidance of Pintard, it grew rapidly in im- 
portance and became one of the showplaces of the city. 
Its advertisements, appearing in the current press, an- 
nounced special features and enumerated curios acquired 
from time to time. Because of Pintard's forced withdrawal 
from the city in 1792, his valuable aid was lost to the Mu- 
seum, but the Society continued to conduct it according 
to plans which he had formulated. In 1794 it was removed 
from the City Hall to the Exchange in Broad Street. 20 By 



THE TAMMANY MUSEUM 175 

the year following, however, it appears that the Society's 
interest in the Museum had waned, for, on June 25, 1795, 
its management was relinquished and the collection pre- 
sented to Gardiner Baker, who had served in the office of 
keeper since its foundation, in appreciation of his faithful 
and efficient efforts. The resolution limited the terms of 
the gift, and read in part as follows : 21 

That Gardiner Baker has the merit in his extraordinary ex- 
ertions in the promotion and extention of the Museum; he 
appears neither to have spared labor nor expense in his en- 
deavors to accomplish the original objects of the founders of 
this institution, and of gratifying the curious ; that the members 
of this society relinquish and assign all their right in the Mu- 
seum to Gardiner Baker upon the following conditions : That 
the same shall forever hereafter continue to be known by the 
name of Tammany Museum, in honor of its original founders 
and Patrons ; that Gardiner Baker shall continue the Museum, 
one and indivisible, which shall be kept together in some con- 
venient place within the city of New York and that each mem- 
ber of the Tammany Society shall with their wives and chil- 
dren forever hereafter have free access to the said Museum, 
free of expense; and that this privilege be considered as an 
equivalent for the society's having relinquished and assigned 
all their rights of the said Museum to Gardiner Baker. 

At this time the Museum had a representative collec- 
tion of specimens and curios, with many objects of real 
artistic value. Its library, according to Baker's announce- 
ment in the city directory for 1795, contained " the best 
history of our country that is collected together," compris- 
ing " upwards of five hundred volumes," covering the po- 
litical, religious and economic development of the country. 
With commendable public spirit, Baker extended the privi- 
leges of the library gratis to all persons over twenty-one 
years of age, and set aside a room for their accommoda- 
tion, giving the public permission to make extracts from 



176 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

books or pamphlets on file. A catalogue of the contents of 
the Museum was prepared by Baker, but unfortunately it 
has not been preserved. 

Gardiner Baker was an original member of the Tam- 
many Society and its first Wiskinkie, bearing the great 
standard of the Order in all its processions. He enjoyed a 
considerable local reputation because of his enthusiasm, 
geniality and odd appearance, and in the Society his activ- 
ity made him prominent in most of its undertakings. He is 
aptly described, by one of his acquaintances, as 22 " a 
snub-nosed, pock-pitted, bandy-legged, fussy, good-natured 
little body full of zeal and bustle in his vocation, who ex- 
pended his money and credit in collecting all sorts of cu- 
riosities from the skeleton of a drag fly to that of a mam- 
moth. . . . He moreover was a greater curiosity than 
any in his museum." In spite of his grotesque appearance, 
Baker was possessed of an attractive personality which won 
him many friends. He was endowed with a refined literary 
taste and contributed to the publications of the day articles 
covering a wide range of subjects. 23 While on a business 
trip to Boston, he was stricken with yellow fever and died 
on September 30, 1798, still a very young man. 24 In his 
enthusiasm for the Museum he had exhausted his personal 
fortune in increasing its collection, so that shortly after his 
death it was deemed appropriate to conduct a benefit for 
his widow. 25 

In 1800 26 Baker's administrator sold the Museum to 
W. J. Waldron. Its activities, however, were continued, 
and in 1810 27 we find it owned and conducted by John 
Scudder under the name of Scudder's American Museum. 
In 1812 a correspondent writes that it was " the most amus- 
ing and striking place of public resort in the city." 28 By 
1815 the extent of public interest in the Museum induced 
Scudder to throw open its doors on certain days to the poor 



PROMOTION OF HOLIDAYS 177 

of the city, 29 and in 1820 it was enlarged by consolidation 
with the Grand Museum. After Scudder's death, in August 
of the following year, the Museum was continued in various 
hands until 1842, when it was purchased by P. T. Barnum, 30 
and its identity became merged in his famous " Museum of 
Wonders." 

The Tammany Museum was the first museum estab- 
lished in the city of New York and the second in the United 
States. Although no vestige of the original collection can 
now be anywhere identified, the fact remains that the insti- 
tution performed a social, educational and patriotic func- 
tion in the life of the community, and may properly be 
regarded as the forerunner of our historical societies and 
public museums. 

3. Promotion of Holidays 

The development of the new national life provided an 
opportunity for the origin of new traditions and for the 
adoption of ceremonies expressive of patriotic sentiments. 
The Tammany Societies, as we have seen, were conceived 
in a spirit of festival and celebration, and the New York 
Tammany Society, in developing this phase of its activity, 
aided in the promotion of local and national holidays. After 
the ancient Tammanial custom, Saint Tammany's Day was 
celebrated out of doors, and the parade in native costume 
was a feature which naturally attracted the curious and 
made the event a subject of public notice. With the 
growth of the Society, the customary pageantry was given 
added splendor, and such throngs witnessed the spectacle 
that its yearly observance assumed the proportions of a 
public holiday. To keep pace with the interest excited, the 
Society developed an elaborate form of processional and 
instituted the practice of giving " Long Talks " on the oc- 
casion of its anniversary festival. 



178 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

The celebration of the twelfth of May, 1790, saw the 
first pretentious pageant staged, and the custom of giving 
Long Talks inaugurated. At ten a. m., on that day, the 
Society assembled at its Wigwam, in Barden's Tavern, and 
proceeded to the Brick Church, where the oration of the 
day was delivered by Dr. William Pitt Smith, Grand 
Sachem of the Society. A collection was taken up for dis- 
tressed debtors, and the sum of thirty pounds ($75 in local 
currency) was realized. After singing an ode composed by 
Samuel Low, one of the members, the parade was resumed 
and the Society proceeded to " Brother Campbell's at Green- 
wich where an elegant entertainment was prepared, to which 
the Governor of the State, the Mayor of the City, and the 
principal officers of the Cincinnati were invited." Patriotic 
toasts were offered and the festival was concluded by an 
Indian dance given by the Sachems of the Society and the 
Cayuga Indians, who were the guests of the day. After 
sundown the Society returned to its wigwam, at Barden's 
Tavern, where the members dispersed. Although the gath- 
ering was large and a great concourse of people beheld the 
ceremony, no untoward occurrence marred the harmony 
and decorum of the occasion. 31 

This form of ceremony was followed until 1813, when 
the Indian costumes were discarded. 32 The Society, how- 
ever, continued its parade, in civilian attire, until 1825, 
when this feature seems to have passed from public notice. 
The less spectacular attractions of the anniversaries — the 
banquets and Long Talks — survived until the 42d anniver- 
sary, in 183 1. 33 After that date we find no record of further 
observance of the occasion. The early anniversary celebra- 
tions maintained a lofty tone, and for some time the Society 
attracted the most dignified and prominent citizens to its 
festive board. 34 

On February 22, 1790, the Society celebrated the birth- 



PROMOTION OF HOLIDAYS 179 

day of President Washington. The regular Monday meet- 
ing of the Society chancing to fall on the 22d, the idea 
seems to have arisen spontaneously, and the following toast 
was drunk in "American porter " : " May the auspicious 
birth of our Great Grand Sachem, George Washington, be 
ever commemorated by all the loyal Sons of Saint Tam- 
many." A song suitable to the occasion was sung and great 
patriotic fervor was evinced by the participants. It was 
then on motion " resolved unanimously that the 22nd day 
of February (corresponding with the 11th of February old 
style) be this day and ever hereafter commemorated by 
this Society as the birth of the illustrious George Washing- 
ton, President of the United States of America." 35 

This was the first anniversary of Washington's birth- 
day after his inauguration, and its recognition by the So- 
ciety was probably the first formal notice taken of the event 
in New York and perhaps in the United States. Even the 
Order of the Cincinnati, of which Washington was Presi- 
dent-General, took inspiration from this action of the Tam- 
many Society, for on March 1st of the same year they 
" resolved unanimously that this Society will in the future 
celebrate the anniversary of George Washington, late Com- 
mander-in-Chief of the American army and President- 
General of the Society." The Tammany Society for many 
years faithfully observed the occasion with appropriate 
patriotic ceremonies. 

The Society early adopted the celebration of the anni- 
versary of American Independence as one of its principal 
annual functions. Indeed, the custom in this state of read- 
ing the Declaration of Independence as a part of the Fourth 
of July program was instituted by the Tammany Society." 
The establishment of this ceremony has been attributed to 
John Pintard, and his strong patriotic sentiment and far- 
seeing appreciation of the significance of American na- 



180 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

tionalism gives weight to this opinion. The Society's first- 
recorded observance of this event was modestly held in the 
Wigwam on July 4, 1790, and was briefly chronicled as 
follows : sfe " The Society of Tammany also convened yes- 
terday and testified a grateful remembrance of the acts of 
'76 by reading the declaration of independence." 

The establishment of the new Federal Government, 
which was not fully consummated until late in 1789, pro- 
duced a renewed enthusiasm in the fact of American inde- 
pendence; and the Society's celebration of the Fourth of 
July in the year 1790 was among the earliest exercises held 
to commemorate that august occasion. The celebration of 
July 4, 1791, was elaborately prepared. An ambitious 
program was arranged and formal notice of the order of 
proceedings was conspicuously displayed in the newspapers 
of the day. 39 At sunrise the American colors were broken 
out at the great Wigwam in Broad Street, and at nine 
o'clock the Society, under escort of the military corps, 
marched to the Middle Dutch Church, where, in the pres- 
ence of a large and brilliant audience, divine services were 
held. The Declaration of Independence was read by the 
Grand Sachem, and the Reverend Dr. William Linn, Chap- 
lain to the First Congress, delivered a timely sermon on 
" The Blessings of America," which was highly lauded for 
its elegance of composition and animated delivery. Pa- 
triotic music was rendered and an ode, composed by Dr. 
William Pitt Smith at the request of the Society, was sung. 
At the conclusion of the celebration a collection was taken 
up for the benefit of the Charity School, to which the 
assemblage liberally contributed. Upon leaving the church, 
the Society and its escort marched in military order to the 
Battery, where manoeuvres were executed and formal sal- 
utations exchanged between the militia and the Society. 
The members of the Society then proceeded to a banquet 



PROMOTION OF HOLIDAYS 181 

at Campbell's, on the banks of the Hudson, where toasts 
were offered and speeches expressive of patriotic sentiment 
delivered. In the evening the Great Wigwam was illumi- 
nated and a transparency displayed, disclosing the arms 
of the United States. 40 

This program was substantially followed at the celebra- 
tions of July 4th, 1792 and 1793. The Fourth of July, 
1794, however, brought a more concerted public recognition 
of the day. The leading civic and patriotic bodies in the 
city combined in the arrangement of an ostentatious cere- 
mony to take the place of the separate functions which had 
characterized the day theretofore. A joint committee, com- 
posed of members from the various societies, arranged the 
details of the occasion, following the general plan that had 
been employed by the Tammany Society. 41 The militia, 
civic societies and interested citizens paraded to Christ's 
Church, where divine services were conducted, and an im- 
pressive and patriotic sermon delivered by the Rev. Joseph 
Pilmore on " The Blessings of peace; Psalm 132-1. Be- 
hold, how good and pleasant it is, for brethren to dwell 
together in unity." 4 At the close of the exercises the vari- 
ous societies repaired to their respective meeting-places and 
concluded the day with separate banquets and festivities." 
The Society participated in these joint celebrations until 
1826, when it resumed its separate observance, a practice 
which has survived to the present day. An elaborate pro- 
gram, which has been substantially followed from year to 
year, was evolved. It consisted of long and short talks, 
music, an ode, and the reading of the Declaration of 
Independence. 

In these public festivals the members of the Society 
appeared in Indian costume, bearing tomahawks and be- 
decked with paint and feathers. This pageantry appeared 
to be relished by the populace during the early years 



182 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

of the Society, but, when it became enmeshed in poli- 
tics, it was attacked and criticised for this mummery; and a 
feature which had at first been so highly appreciated fell 
into general disrepute. Newspapers dominated by the po- 
litical opponents of the Society took up the cudgels, and the 
Society became a prey to their deprecatory comments and 
rancorous attack*. The first caustic criticism of the pagean- 
try was evoked by the parade of May 12, 1804. This was 
a celebration in honor of the Louisiana Purchase, conducted 
under the auspices of the Tammany Society in conjunction 
with its own anniversary exercises. The article appears as 
an editorial in the Commercial Advertiser of May 14, 1804 : 

We are informed that the procession of Saturday [May 12] 
was but a very sorry figure. Very few characters of any kind 
of respectability were present. Many of our warmest Demo- 
crats were ashamed of the business, and prudently declined 
the honor of mixing with the motley crowd. 

At this time the Society was a mere political neophyte, 
and its critics exhibited a far less poignant rancor than that 
employed in their attacks a few years later when the So- 
ciety became more deeply involved in political controversy. 
This added acrimony is illustrated by the following edito- 
rial comment which appeared in the American Citizen and 
General Advertiser of July 6, 1809 : 

It is painful to observe the ridicule which is annually thrown 
upon this glorious event by some semi-barbarians calling them- 
selves the Tammany Society. Instead of commemorating the 
birth of the nation with that manliness and dignity which the 
occasion calls for and inspires, we see them with pain and dis- 
gust daubing their faces with paint, crowding their heavy heads 
with feathers ; making savages in appearance more savage ; 
representing as they term it, the genius of the nation in the 
person of some one who has no genius, and playing such tricks 
and exhibiting such figures as showmen would despise and be 
ashamed of. We derive, however, from the late commemora- 



PROMOTION OF HOLIDAYS 183 

tion a consolation of no trifling magnitude; we see that the 
Society is rapidly diminishing, and that the more civilized of 
the savages are beginning to associate with tamed and tutored 
men. 

The author of this scathing attack, James Cheetham, 
editor of the American Citizen, on March 1st preceding the 
appearance of the article was expelled from the Society for 
revealing its secret proceedings. Some degree of bitterness 
was doubtless engendered by this occurrence, and the editor 
was probably prejudiced in his observations. The several 
branches of the Society established throughout the country, 
and especially those in Philadelphia and Rhode Island, 
were also the victims of this hostility, and their gay pagean- 
try was unmercifully lashed by the Federalist press. 44 

When, in 1813, the practice of appearing in Indian cos- 
tume at public functions was abandoned, the announcement 
met with public approval. This sentiment is voiced edi- 
torially in the Evening Post of July 1st of that year, as 
follows : 

The notification that the Tammany Society are about to 
abandon their savage habits and intend to celebrate the day 
with decency and decorum gives us pleasure . . . We hope 
under the new regulations the use of ridiculous cars loaded 
with ferocious animals, Indian canoes, etc., will be laid 
aside . . . 

In the celebration of July 4th of that year the Society 
paraded in civilian attire, its membership distinguished by 
an appropriate badge. On the following day the Evening 
Post made the following comment on the change : 

The Tammany Society walked in the procession yesterday, 
but with reduced numbers. There was very little of the sav- 
age display in their costume or manners, so hopes for their 
conversion to Christianity are increased. In place of the dis- 



184 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

gusting car which has heretofore disgraced their processions, 
a standard was carried which bore the inscription, " Free 
Trade and Sailors' Rights." 

The abandonment of the Indian regalia was induced by 
an intense public feeling against Indians because of the 
atrocities perpetrated in the border conflict incident to the 
War of 1812. 45 The feeling on this point was so strong 
that other societies refused to join with the Tammany So- 
ciety unless the Indian costume were discarded for the oc- 
casion. But the Society did not succumb to the pressure of 
public opinion without internal dissension. Older members, 
with whom the custom of appearing in paint and feathers 
had become time-honored, resisted the proposed change and 
were disgruntled by the abandonment of the Indian titles 
so long in vogue in the Society which the wave of disap- 
proval for the Indian features of the Order had brought 
about. Officers elected for the year resigned in protest, 
and many members withdrew from active participation in 
the Society's affairs. The practice of wearing the Indian 
costumes at the festivals was never resumed, but the Indian 
names of the officers were restored in 1815, shortly after 
the conclusion of the Peace of Ghent. 46 

The Society included in its list of celebrations that of 
November 25th, Evacuation Day. 47 In conjunction with 
other civic bodies, it frequently participated in parades in 
honor of this occasion, but for the most part the ceremony 
was confined to a banquet at the Wigwam. This observ- 
ance was continued until 1823, after which date the event 
seems to have lost public interest. 

The calendar of the Society, issued with the Public Con- 
stitution in 1790, included October 12th, the anniversary of 
the discovery of America, as the day sacred to the memory 
of the Society's second patron, Columbus. As a feature 
of the occasion a Long Talk, usually delivered in conjunc- 



PROMOTION OF HOLIDAYS 18S 

tion with a banquet, was prescribed. It early became cus- 
tomary to include in the program an ode or poem dedicated 
to the Great Discoverer and eulogizing the Society. 

The tercentenary of the discovery of America was cel- 
ebrated by the Society on October 12, 1792. The event was 
marked by a stately ceremony in which the Society eclipsed 
all former efforts in the dignity and pomp displayed. This 
was the first pretentious Columbian celebration in the New 
World. 48 As outlined in Pintard's letter to Belknap, quoted 
above, the Society began its preparation for this event as 
early as April 6, 1791; and the proposed celebration was 
heralded in the New York Journal and Patriotic Register 
for October 10, 1792, by the following announcement: 

Notice: The members of the Tammany Society or Colum- 
bian Order, are hereby notified that an extra meeting will be 
held in the wigwam the 12 inst. at seven o'clock, to celebrate 
the third century since the discovery of America by Columbus. 

By Order of the Grand Sachem 

Benjamin Strong, Secretary. 

An elaborate program was arranged for the evening, 
the members meeting at the Wigwam and there celebrating 
" in that style of sentiment which distinguishes this social 
and patriotic institution." 49 The Long Talk, delivered by 
John B. Johnson, was devoted to a narrative of the life 
and trials of the great explorer. 50 Several Columbian odes 
were recited, patriotic songs were sung, and at the banquet 
the Patron was toasted with appreciative reverence. 

An attraction of the celebration was an illuminated 
shaft or monument which " was exposed for the gratifica- 
tion of public curiosity some time previous to the meeting." 
It was upwards of fourteen feet high, and was ornamented 
with a number of transparent devices depicting the prin- 
cipal events in the career of Columbus from his reception 



586 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

by Queen Isabella to his imprisonment and humiliation in 
a Spanish dungeon. The pedestal bore this inscription : 

This monument 

was erected by the 

Tammany Society, or Columbian Order 

Oct. 12, MDCCXCII, 

to commemorate 

IVth Columbian Century: 

an interesting and illustrious 

aera. 

The monument attracted considerable public interest, 
and after the celebration it was assigned to a central posi- 
tion among the exhibits in the Tammany Museum. 52 It 
was annually illuminated on the 12th day of October, and 
this feature was given prominence in the advertisements 
of the Museum. In the course of the numerous changes 
in the Museum's management all trace of the monument 
has been lost. 

For some years the Society continued to honor the 
memory of Columbus. Interest in the secondary patron, 
however, began to wane during the period of the Society's 
early political activity, and an occasional toast in his mem- 
ory appears to be the only recognition accorded. The cele- 
bration of the anniversary of Columbus has not survived 
as a prominent function of the institution. 

4. Patriotic Zeal and Civic Interest 

The Society's patriotic zeal found expression in tributes 
to departed statesmen. Upon the death of Benjamin Frank- 
lin, in 1790, it was " unanimously resolved that as a mark 
of respect due to the memory of Dr. Franklin in commemo- 
ration of his republican virtues and as an incentive to imitate 
the same, that this Society wear the usual badge of mourn- 



PATRIOTIC ZEAL AND CIVIC INTEREST 187 

ing for the space of thirty days." The Society shared 
the grief which pervaded the entire country at the death 
of Washington, and conducted commemorative exercises." 
The death of Alexander Hamilton, although effected at the 
hand of one who at that time controlled the political activi- 
ties of the Society, plunged the organization into keenest 
mourning. Resolutions of condolence were extended to his 
widow and family, and the Society occupied a conspicuous 
place in the funeral procession. 55 Again its badge of mourn- 
ing, a black crepe ribbon edged with red, w r as worn by the 
Society at the funeral of John Pierce, who was killed in 
April, 1806, by a shot from the British sloop Leander, 
of! Sandy Hook. 50 In July of the following year, the badge 
of mourning was again displayed for thirteen days, in 
memory of the sailors of the frigate Chesapeake who were 
killed by shots from the British sloop Leopard. 57 The 
wearing of this symbol at the death of prominent men be- 
came a fixed custom of the Society which has survived to 
the present day. 

The practical character of the Society's patriotism is 
revealed by its work on the fortifications guarding New 
York harbor. In 1794, when war with Great Britain 
seemed imminent, the unprotected condition of the city be- 
came a subject for public concern, and the various patriotic 
societies and civic bodies cooperated with the Government 
in perfecting the coast defences. The Tammany Society 
bore its share of the burden, and the following article from 
the Columbian Gazetteer of April 23d, indicates that its 
efforts were received with public approval: 

We hear that the Tammany Society are determined to im- 
prove the present opportunity of adding to the incidents of 
their distinguished zeal for the safety and welfare of the Re- 
public in general and of this port and city in particular, by 
turning out to work with their own hands upon the fortifica- 



188 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

tions in the harbor. By actions of this kind, the dignity and 
honor of true Republicans is shown. 

On May 1st of the same year the following notice of 
the prosecution of this work is called to our attention: 

The Tammany Society or Columbian Order, having resolved 
to go on Governor's Island on Friday next, the 2nd day of 
May, to work on the fortifications the members are requested 
to meet at Tammanial Hall precisely at eight o'clock a. m. on 
that day for the aforesaid purpose. As this is a voluntary act, 
it is presumed that none who are well wishers of the safety and 
security of this country will neglect to attend. 

By order of the Grand Sachem 

Benjamin Strong, Secretary. 

The extent of the assistance rendered by the Society 
does not appear, but its patriotic spirit was proved by its 
participation in the work. It should be borne in mind that 
at that time the corrupting influence of patronage had not 
yet been felt in our political life, and it was a worthy and 
common practice for citizens to volunteer to assist the gov- 
ernment in time of need. The students and faculty of Co- 
lumbia College 59 were among those who cooperated in the 
work on the fortifications, and they, together with various 
societies and civic bodies, were assigned a day upon which 
to contribute their share toward the completion of the work. 
All who participated received the thanks of an appreciative 
public. This patriotic function was renewed by the Tam- 
many Society in the second war with Great Britain, when 
its members volunteered various services for the protection 
of the city. 61 In 1814 the members were assigned to reg- 
ular tours of duty in constructing and inspecting the forti- 
fications in Brooklyn and Harlem. On August 31st oi that 
year the Society proceeded in a body, 1,500 strong, to the 
fortifications in Brooklyn, where they aided in the construe- 



THE WIGWAM 189 

tion of new defensive works. The event was marked by 
patriotic spirit, and the members proceeded to their labor 
to the accompaniment of martial music. The chief presid- 
ing officer of the Society (at that time known as the Presi- 
dent), Matthew L. Davis, personally defrayed all the ex- 
penses of the members in forwarding this public-spirited 
enterprise. 62 

5. The Wigwam 

The Wigwam of the Society at the time of its early- 
activities w r as variously located. Previous to May 1st, 1789, 
the house of Talmage Hall at 49 Cortlandt Street was 
called the Wigwam in public notices. 63 In 1789 and early 
in 1790 it was apparently located on the banks of the Hud- 
son and at Barden's Tavern in Broadway. 64 On July 21st, 
1790, 65 the Wigwam was at the City Tavern in Broad 
Street, but this, like its predecessors, was merely a tem- 
porary abiding-place of the Society, which now began to 
feel the need of a permanent home. For this purpose a 
request was made to the Common Council of the city for a 
room in the Exchange, and the minutes of that body for 
September 10th, 1790, record the action taken upon the 
Society's request as follows : 66 "A petition from the Society 
of St. Tammany for the use of the room in the Exchange 
was read and the prayer thereof granted : except when the 
room shall be wanted for public use." 

Thus the Exchange became the " Great Wigwam " or 
" Tammanial Hall " and continued to be the home of the 
Society until 1798, when the scene of its activities shifted 
to " Martling's " at the corner of Nassau and Spruce 
Streets. 67 The " Long Room " at Martling's, which be- 
came its assembly hall, was derisively called the " Pig Pen " 
by political opponents of the Society. 

The Society had long cherished the desire for a home of 



190 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

its own, and to effectuate that purpose there was organ- 
ized, in January, 1792, the New York Tammanial Tontine 
Association. The purpose of this association and the pro- 
ceedings of its first meeting are described in the New York 
Journal and Patriotic Register for January 18, 1792, as 
follows : 

The Tontine was opened by the Tammany Society a few 
days ago for the purpose of erecting a great wigwam or 
Tammany Hall for the convenience of the meetings and to 
accommodate the great museum of that respectable and patri- 
otic society. This Tontine filled rapidly and it is rumored that 
a spacious lot is already purchased for the purpose intended. 

A secretary, a treasurer, and a board of thirteen direct- 
ors were chosen, the board including in its membership John 
Pintard, William Mooney and Dr. William Pitt Smith. 
Pintard's name appears at the head of the list of directors, 
and it may fairly be assumed that, because of his experience 
in organizing Tontine associations, 68 he took a leading part 
in the organization and management of the scheme. It is 
also probable that Pintard himself suggested the experiment. 

The Association adopted and published, early in 1792, 
an elaborate prospectus, entitled "The Plan of the New- 
York Tammanial Tontine Association." It was proposed 
to issue four thousand shares of stock valued at sixteen dol- 
lars each, individual subscriptions to be limited to twenty- 
five shares. For thirty days after the Tontine was opened, 
members of the Society had the exclusive right to subscribe 
for stock, and at the expiration of that period the subscrip- 
tion was open to all citizens of the United States, within a 
time limit of ten days. 

The officers and board of directors were to be elected 
by a vote of the stockholders ; and, in order that the Tam- 
many Society might not lose control of the Association 
through the stock falling into the hands of non-members, 



THE WIGWAM 191 

the articles of the Association required that three-fourths 
of the board of directors, besides the president and treas- 
urer, were to be members of the Society. The surplus, if 
any remained after the building and other contemplated 
improvements had been paid for, was to be safely invested, 
and the dividends distributed pursuant to an elaborate 
scheme. The Tontine was to expire on the first Monday 
in May, 1820. 

This Association, although auspiciously inaugurated and 
elaborately organized, was doomed to failure, and slight 
mention is found of it thereafter. This may be accounted 
for by the fact that Pintard, who was probably its moving 
spirit, was lost to its management because of his personal 
difficulties at this time. 

The failure of the Tontine postponed the consummation 
of the Society's desire for a home of its own and it was not 
until May 13, 1811, that the corner-stone of the first Tam- 
many Hall was laid. The building was located at the corner 
of Nassau and Frankfort Streets, and was erected for the 
purpose of " preserving and strengthening that patriotic 
chain which unites its members and for accommodating 
their republican brothers." Funds for the enterprise were 
raised by issuing stock upon which dividends were to be 
paid from the income of the building. A large room was 
reserved for the use of the Society on certain evenings, 
and the remaining space was rented as a hotel. The edifice 
is still standing, and is now (1913) occupied by the down- 
town office of the New York Sun. 

On July 4, 1867, the Society laid the corner-stone of 
the present Tammany Hall in East Fourteenth Street, near 
Third Avenue. On July 4, 1868, the Hall was publicly dedi- 
cated at the opening of the National Democratic Convention 
which selected Horatio Seymour as Presidential nominee. 



192 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

6. The Drift toward Politics 

The Society shared the intense public interest in the 
French Revolution. The signal service rendered to the 
American cause during the Revolutionary War was grate- 
fully remembered, and the American people displayed a 
lively sympathy with the French in their efforts to throw 
off the yoke of despotism. Indeed the Tammany Society 
carried its enthusiasm for the French Revolution to the 
point of holding celebrations to commemorate its events. 
The first of these was held on July 14, 1792, " to celebrate 
that day on which the French nation wrested from the hands 
of tyranny their liberty and freedom. Every American 
must revere it and every friend to humanity must be filled 
with enthusiasm when he contemplates the event that hap- 
pened on it." 69 Representative French residents of the city 
were invited to attend the function, and the Wigwam was 
brilliantly illuminated and decorated with the Stars and 
Stripes and the Tricolor of France. At the banquet, a 
notable feature of the gathering, congratulatory addresses 
were delivered and toasts offered to the continued freedom 
of the French people. Dr. Vacher, responding in behalf 
of the French guests, said : " We most firmly believe the 
fourth and fourteenth of July will be considered by future 
generations the epochs of their liberty and happiness." 

This event established a bond of sympathy between the 
French residents and sympathizers and the Tammany So- 
ciety, and brought about an exchange of social amenities. 
The French consul visited the Society and French residents 
paid it homage. 70 On May 12th, 1794, a grand civic feast 
in honor of the Society was given aboard the French sloop- 
of-war La Perdrix, and on the same afternoon the consul 
participated in the anniversary celebration held on shore 
by the Society. 71 On September 22d of the same year, the 
officers of the Society were the. guests of the French consul 



THE DRIFT TOWARD POLITICS 193 

at a dinner given in honor of the third anniversary of the 
establishment of the French Republic. 72 In April, 1795, 
the Society again celebrated the achievement of French 
liberty. 73 The enthusiasm with which the establishment of 
the French republic was greeted, produced a wave of demo- 
cratic fervor throughout the United States. French fash- 
ions, French songs, and French ideas engrossed the popular 
mind, and the Tricolor of France was everywhere displayed. 

The arrival of Citizen Genet in America, in 1793, and 
his agitation for the creation of sympathy for the French 
further stimulated enthusiasm for the radical republican 
principles of the French Revolution. Democratic societies, 
dedicated to the equal rights of men 74 and to the freedom 
to criticize and correct those in control of the reins of gov- 
ernment, sprang up all over the country. 75 These principles 
found so much favor in the Tammany Society that, when 
the New York branch of the Democratic Society was estab- 
lished in the city in February, 1794, it was joined by so 
many members of the Tammany Society that the two bodies 
became almost identical in personnel. 76 Thus the Society 
was unconsciously drawn toward the Democratic-Repub- 
lican Party, and began to take on a political complexion. 

The origin of our present system of political parties 
may be traced to the Constitutional Convention of 1787, 
for there developed the great cleavage between the advo- 
cates of state rights and those who favored a Federal Gov- 
ernment with strongly centralized powers. Washington's 
first administration was non-partisan in character, but with 
the institution of the financial policies of Hamilton, in 1791, 
party lines assumed definition, and the two great parties, 
Federalist and Republican, sprang into life. The Federal- 
ists, under the leadership of Hamilton, advocated a control 
of the Government based upon aristocracy and wealth; 
while the Republicans, under the leadership of Jefferson, 



194 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

upheld the principles of a government based on equal rights 
and true popular rule. Inasmuch as the Anti-Federalists 
espoused the principles to which the Tammany Society 
was dedicated, its Anti-Federalist leanings were inevitable. 
As the various questions of public policy under the Fed- 
eral administration agitated the public mind, the Society 
as a civic body found itself ranged on the side of popular 
rights, and against the conservative policies advocated by 
Hamilton and the administration. These popular views 
became more and more clearly the views of the Society, and 
the Federalist members gradually withdrew. 

While the Society was slowly gyrating into the whirl- 
pool of politics, there arrived in New York in the fall of 
1793 Mrs. Ann Julia Hatton, 77 who sprang into immediate 
prominence as the bard of American Democracy. She 
championed the cause of Republicanism and dedicated to 
the Democratic Society a patriotic ode embodying the 
French ideas of liberty and equality with which she was 
imbued. 78 Mrs. Hatton became the Poetess Laureate of 
the Tammany Society and wrote an opera called " Tam- 
many, or the Indian Chief," based upon the legends of 
its patrons. The Society in its zeal secured the production 
of the piece in New York in March, 1794. 79 Its expressions 
of liberty and equality created a sensation. The prologue 
and epilogue were characterized by their strong leaning 
toward the principles of the French Revolution, and the 
opera as a whole was " seasoned high with spice hot from 
Paris." The Federalists severely criticized the piece and 
condemned its sentiments, but it met with great favor 
among Republicans. 80 The opera was produced in Phila- 
delphia in the fall of 1794; 81 in Boston on January 4, 
1796 ; 82 and played a return engagement in New York on 
March 13, 1795. 83 



THE DRIFT TOWARD POLITICS 195 

A hostile press took occasion to criticize the Society for 
employing its formidable influence .to foist the play upon 
the public. The Society's power in the community and 
its anxiety to procure the production of this piece are shown 
by the following remarks of a contemporary critic : 84 

Why is that wretched thing Tammany again brought for- 
ward? Messrs. Hallam & Henry [managers of the theatre], 
we are told, used to excuse themselves for giving it, by saying 
that it was sent them by the Tammany Society and they were 
afraid of disobeying so respectable a body of critics who, hav- 
ing appointed a committee to report upon the merits of this 
piece, had determined it to be one of the finest things of its 
kind ever seen. 

This incident tended to widen the gap between the Tam- 
many Society and the Federalists, and the bitterness engen- 
dered brought it into closer allegiance to the Democrats. 
During this year the acrimonious controversy between 
William Cobbett and Dr. Joseph Priestley, the English 
Jacobin, 85 was waged. Priestley, in his advocacy of the 
French political thought, received the support and approval 
of the Tammany Society. This was a further step in the 
assumption of Republican principles on the part of the 
Society. 

The final breach, however, between the Federalists and 
the Democrats in the Society and its taking up of the 
cudgels of active politics were precipitated by the contro- 
versy following the Whiskey Rebellion. The Democratic 
Society opposed the national excise tax, one of Hamilton's 
fiscal measures, and even went so far as to encourage oppo- 
sition to its collection. 86 On November 19, 1794, Washing- 
ton, in his sixth annual message to Congress, deplored the 
unpatriotic motives which had actuated the rebellion,, and 
severely censured the societies or combinations of men that 
countenanced and encouraged the resistance to organized 



196 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

authority. The President's attitude is expressed in the fol- 
lowing quotation from his message : 87 

The very forbearance to press prosecutions was misinter- 
preted into a fear of urging the execution of the laws, and 
associations of men began to devise threats against the officers 
employed. From a belief that by a more formal concert their 
operation might be defeated, certain self-created societies as- 
sumed the tone of condemnation. Hence, while the greater 
part of Pennsylvania itself were conforming themselves to the 
acts of the excise, a few counties were resolved to frustrate 
them. 

Congress immediately approved the President's senti- 
ments. The Democratic Society, at which the message 
was plainly aimed, 88 immediately fell into disrepute, and 
its activities gradually ceased. The Federalists, however, 
pretended to believe that the President's strictures upon self- 
created societies were aimed at the Tammany Society, and 
a bitter controversy ensued. The Federalists within the 
Society took advantage of a thinly attended meeting to offer 
a resolution approving the President's sentiments, and, by 
implication, endorsing the entire administration. The reso- 
lution read in part : 89 

Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Society that the Pres- 
ident of the United States in using his best endeavors to sup- 
port on all occasions the laws and constitution of these states, 
entitles him to the warmest thanks and fullest approbation of 
every lover of their prosperity and happiness. 

Based upon this resolution, a pronunciamento was issued 
to the People of the United States, containing a hearty en- 
dorsement of President Washington. Its Federalist tone is 
displayed in the following excerpt : 

We vow, then, our hearty and entire approbation of the con- 
duct of the President of the United States, in his late endeav- 
ors to discountenance certain self-created societies ; and we 



THE DRIFT TOWARD POLITICS 197 

perceive, from the iritation a consciousness of merited censure 
has occasioned, in various parts of the country, that the appel- 
lation which he chose to distinguish them has been sufficiently 
discriminating; the event presents him to us as the firm and 
independent patriot, the prudent and sagacious statesman. 

The majority of the members of the Society, who were 
Republican in sentiment, were shocked by the publication 
of this address, and, when they had recovered from the sur- 
prise occasioned by minority action, its repudiation speedily 
followed. The issuance of the address was severely cen- 
sured, and an address, intended to supplant the action of 
the minority, was issued to the public. This was the first 
authentic statement of the Society's attitude on any political 
question. In it the policy of non-intervention in partisan 
politics was clearly expressed, and the Society's purposes 
were reiterated. The minority address was characterized 
as the action of a snap meeting, not representative of the 
true character or sentiments of the Society, and it was de- 
nounced as officious and impolitic, distinctly contravening 
the spirit and tenor of the Tammanial laws. 90 

This controversy brings clearly to light the split between 
the Federalists and the Anti-Federalists within the Society. 
The bitterness occasioned caused the withdrawal of the sup- 
porters of the administration and left the Society in the pos- 
session of the Anti-Federalists or Republicans. The result- 
ing unanimity of feeling removed the barrier which the 
original non-partisan character of the Society had inter- 
posed to political action. Thenceforth the Society's influ- 
ence in public matters became a factor, notwithstanding the 
fact that no official participation in politics occurred for 
several years. 

President Washington, in his Farewell Address (Sep- 
tember 17, 179 6 ), 91 again assailed self-created societies and 
combinations of men as a pernicious and dangerous element 



198 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

in the community; and it is said that Hamilton influenced 
the President's declaration, intending to inflict a stagger- 
ing blow at the growing influence and importance of the 
Society in the political affairs of the City and State of New 
York. In fact Hamilton intimated to his political friends 
in New York that the President had in mind the Tam- 
many Society when he denounced such organizations as 
a menace to Republican institutions. 92 This harsh Fed- 
eralist criticism and severe arraignment of self-created 
societies had the inevitable effect of aligning the Society 
with the Anti-Federalists, and the step was not far into the 
arena of partisan politics. We thus find the Society on the 
threshold of its career as a militant partisan influence and 
champion of personal liberty and popular rights. 

Organized in a spirit of fraternity and dedicated to the 
advocacy of popular rights and national (solidarity, the 
Society performed its most valuable offices in the crystal- 
lization of the sentiments and traditions of American 
patriotism and in the championship of the principles of true 
democracy. These great public services were performed 
without rancor and with an unselfish earnestness that won 
the respect of" its contemporaries. Posterity, however, 
blinded by prejudice engendered in subsequent controversy, 
has failed to accord to the early Tammany Society of New 
York the gratitude and honor which are its due. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER IV. 

1. The Census report for 1790 gives the population as fol- 
lows: New York County, 33,131; Kings County, 16,014; 
Queens County, 4,495; and Richmond County, 3,835. The 
Report for 1800 gives the following population: New York 
County, 60,515; Kings County, 16,916; Queens County, 5,740; 
and Richmond County, 4,564. 

2. See page 94; Independent, April 22, 1786; Harvey as 
cited, 1:164. Harvey, however, fixed the date as December, 
1790. This is obviously an error. 

3. New York Weekly Museum, February 20, 1790; New 
York Journal and Patriotic Register, February 18, 1790. 

4. The Cayugas were tenth in the order of procession, and 
" the festival was concluded by an Indian dance led by the 
Cayuga Indians, in which the officers of the society joined." 
New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 14, 1790. 

5. M'Gillivray, the Chief of the Creek nation, was a half- 
breed. His father was a Scotch trader and his mother was 
ruler of the Creek nation. He had several sisters who mar- 
ried the leading men of the nation. A man of considerable 
attainments and native shrewdness, he was so highly esteemed 
by the Creeks for his skill and ability that he became their 
monarch. He made a favorable impression on Congress, and 
Fisher Ames said of him : " He is decent and not very black." 
The St. Andrew's Society elected him an honorary member 
and an ode especially written for the occasion was dedicated 
to him {Gazette of the United States, Aug. 14, 18, 1790; A 
History of the People of the United States, New York, 1883, 
by John Bach McMaster, 1:604). 

6. Gazette of the United States, July 28, 1790. 

7. Ibid, July 24, 1790; New York Journal and Patriotic Reg- 
ister, July 23, 1790. 

8. New York Daily Advertiser, July 23, 1790. 

9. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 23, 1790. 

10. Ibid, August 3, August 10, 1790. 

199 



200 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

11. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Aug. 17, 1790. 

12. The treaty, however, was not favorably received by the 
people of Georgia, and on the opening of Congress in Decem- 
ber, 1790, it was bitterly attacked by James Jackson, represen- 
tative from that State, who, in the course of his speech, said : 
" That the treaty has spread alarm among the people of 
Georgia. It has ceded away, without any compensation what- 
ever, three millions of land guaranteed to Georgia by the 
Constitution. Has the government recognized the rights of 
Georgia? No. It has given away her lands, invited a savage 
of the Creek nation to the seat of government, caressed him in 
a most extraordinary manner, and sent him home loaded with 
favors." McMaster as cited, 1 :604. 

13. Myers as cited, p. 7. 

14. The Columbian, Oct. 16, 1811. 

15. New York Directory and Register for 1794, p. 271. 

16. Minutes of the Common Council of the City of New 
York, Sept. 2, 1790. 

17. See page 136. 

18. New York Daily Advertiser, May 21, 1791, 

19. Broadside issued June 1, 1791. 

20. History of the Metropolitan Museum of Art (New 
York, 1913), by Winifred E. Howe, p. 4. 

21. New York Directory and Register for 1795, p. 313. 

22. Reminiscences of an Old New Yorker (New York, 
1867), by William Alexander Duer, LL.D., p. 8. 

23. New York Commercial Advertiser, Jan. 4, 1798. 

24. Russell's Gazette (Boston), Oct. 1, 1798; New York 
Daily Gazette, Oct. 5, 1798; Howe as cited, p. 6. 

25. New York Daily Gazette, Oct. 18, 1798. 

26. New York Commercial Advertiser, May 13, 1800. 

27. The Columbian, March 21, 1810. 

28. New York Commercial Advertiser, May 15, 1812. 

29. The Columbian, Feb. 16, 1815. 

30. Life of P. T. Barnum, by himself (London, 1853), 
p. 77. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER IV 201 

31. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 14, 
1790. 

32. See page 168. 

33. Morning Courier and New York Enquirer, May 14, 
1831. 

34. The first fetes under the auspices of the Society were 
favorably commented on by the press. The Gazette of the 
United States of May 15, 1790, said of the first procession: 
" The officers of the Society and many of the members were 
superbly habited in Indian dresses — the novelty of their ap- 
pearance excited universal attention, and the day being fine, 
the scene collected a prodigious concourse of people." Sena- 
tor Maclay, however, looked upon the display as useless ex- 
travagance and jotted down in his diary the following cynical 
comment : 

" May 12, 1790. — This day exhibited a grotesque scene in the 
streets of New York. Being the old first of May, the Sons of 
Tammany had a grand parade through the town in Indian 
dress. Delivered a talk at one of their meeting houses and 
went away to dinner. There seems to be some kind of order 
of society under this denomination, but it does not seem well 
digested as yet. The expense of the dress must have been con- 
siderable, and the money laid out in clothing might have had 
dressed a number of their ragged beggars. But the weather is 
warm now." 

The anniversary of May 12, 1791, attracted even greater 
atention. Governor Clinton was present and " wished pros- 
perity to Tammany's Society and health and happiness to its 
members, which was drunk in bumpers, and himself and 
strangers retired amidst the acclamations of the multitude." 
The growth of the society and its accession to public favor is 
recognized in the following excerpt from the New York Jour- 
nal and Patriotic Register for May 14, 1791 : 

" We have great reason to compliment the brothers and 
officers of this institution on their good conduct and manage- 
ment; when we consider how numerous are the brothers and 
how great the multitude that attended, we are convinced that 



202 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

nothing but the best dispositions, well concerted measures, 
and most active execution could have insured so much har- 
mony and regularity as prevailed." 

35. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Feb. 25, 
1790. 

36. Ibid., March 2, 1790. 

37. New York Daily Advertiser, July 15, 1805. 

38. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 6, 1790. 

39. Ibid, July 2, 1791 ; New York Daily Advertiser, July 2, 
1791. 

40. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 6, 13, 
1791. 

41. Ibid., July 2, 1794; Columbian Gazetteer, July 3, 1794. 

42. See appendix, page 216. 

43. Columbian Gazetteer, July 7, 1794. 

44. Rhode Island American, Oct. 24, 1909; March 13, 23, 
April 17, 20, July 3, 1810. The Scourge, Providence, R. I., 
Aug. 25, 1810; Freeman's Journal, April 10, 1805. 

45. New York Evening Post, June 30, 1813. 

46. Ibid., July 5, 1813. The Advance, April 11, 1896; New 
York City and Vicinity during the War of 1812-'15 (New 
York, 1889), by R. S. Guernsey, 1:239. 

47. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Nov. 26, 1791, 
Nov. 28, 1795 ; American Citizen or General Advertiser, Nov. 
29, 1805; The Columbian, Nov. 29, 1813, Nov. 30, 1818; Na- 
tional Advocate, Nov. 28, 1814, Nov. 25, 1825. 

48. Columbian Celebration of 1792. — The first in the United 
States; an address before the New York Historical Society, 
Oct. 4, 1892, by Edward F. De Lancey ; Discovery of America 
by Columbus. — Boston and New York. Celebrations one hun- 
dred years ago: The Tammany Society's Illuminated Monu- 
ments, by Dr. George H. Moore in New York Times, Aug. 4, 
1889, Magazine of American History, XXII, No. 4, Oct. 1889, 
p. 317. 

49. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Oct. 13, 1792. 

50. See appendix, page 215. 

51. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Oct. 17, 1792. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER IV 203 

52. Columbian Gazetteer, Oct. 14, 1793, Oct. 12, 1794. The 
announcement in the American Minerva and New York Even- 
ing Advertiser for Oct. 11, 1794, read as follows: 

" The Public are informed, that on Monday evening next 
being the 13th instant, a transparent monument dedicated to 
the memory of the great Columbus, the discoverer of this 
Western World, will be illuminated. This monument stands in 
the centre of the museum and its four sides show the most im- 
portant events of this great navigator's life from his being 
seated at the right hand of Ferdinand the then King of Spain, 
to his being enchained by order of this same king to satisfy 
some of his courtiers." 

53. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, April 26, 
1790. 

54. Argus, Feb. 3, 1800. 

55. Republican Watch Tower, July 18, 1804. 

56. The Advance, April 11, 1896. 

57. Public Advertiser, July 3, 1807. 

58. Columbian Gazetteer, May 1, 1794; New York Daily 
Advertiser, May 2, 1794; The Diary, April 29, 1794. 

59. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 3, 1794. 

60. Ibid., May 10, 24, 1794; The Diary, May 2, 8, 15, 21, 
1794; American Minerva and New York Evening Advertiser, 
May 12, 1794; June 25, 1795; Gazette of the United States, 
Jan. 28, 1796. 

61. Guernsey as cited, 11:227, 293; The Advance, April 11, 
1896. 

62. National Advocate, Sept. 1, 1814. 

63. New York Daily Advertiser, April 30, May 4, 1787. 

64. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Feb. 18, May 
11, May 14, 1790. 

65. Ibid., July 23, 1790. 

66. Manuscript minutes of the Common Council of the City 
of New York, Sept. 10, 1790. 

67. Myers as cited, p. 13. 

68. The Tontine was a common device of the day for raising 
funds for popular enterprises, and in a measure performed 



204 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

the function of our modern building loan associations. Pintard 
organized a number of commercial enterprises prior to 1791. 
See John Pintard, Founder of the New York Historical So- 
ciety, by Gen. James Grant Wilson, pp. 21-24. 

69. New York Daily Advertiser, July 17, 1792. 

70. New York Magazine or Literary Repository, Vol. 4, No. 
VL, June [19], 1793, p. 384. 

71. Columbian Gazetteer, May 15, 1794. 

72. Ibid., Sept. 25, 1794. 

73. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, April 8, 
1795. — The Tammany Society ardently supported the basic 
principles of the French Revolution — Liberty and Equality, and 
its sympathies were extended toward those struggling to main- 
tain them. At this banquet, Ireland, which was then chafing 
under the English yoke, was remembered by the Society in the 
following toast : " Ireland — May she gain by the energy of her 
arms what has always been refused to the earnestness of her 
entreaties." 

74. Constitution of the Democratic Society, New York Jour- 
nal and Patriotic Register, Feb. 19, 1794. 

75. American Nation, 111:86. 

76. New York Daily Advertiser, July 15, 1805. 

77. Mrs. Hatton was a member of the talented Kemble fam- 
ily of celebrated English players, a sister of Mrs. Siddons, Mrs. 
Whitlock, John, Charles and Stephen Kemble. 

78. Ode on the Retaking of Toulon, addressed to the Demo- 
cratic Society. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, 
March 15, 1794. 

79. Songs of Tammany; or, the Indian Chief, A Serious 
Opera (New York, 1794). The principal characters were 
Tammany and Columbus; the opera was produced on March 
3d, 6th and 8th, and April 11th, 1794. The prologue was writ- 
ten by Richard B. Davis and published in the Columbian 
Gazetteer March 6, 1794. 

80. For criticism of the Opera see: Records of the New 
York Stage (New York, 1866), by Joseph Ireland, p. 104; 
History of the American Theatre (New York, 1832), by Wm. 



NOTES TO CHAPTER IV 205 

Dunlap, p. 200 ; Early American Operas, by O. G. Sonneck, in 
Sammelbande der Internationalen Musik Gesellschaft, Sechster 
Jahrgang, 1904-1905, pp. 459-464; History of the American 
Theatre (Phila., 1891), by George O. Seilhamer, III., pp. 80, 
84-87, 101, 110; New York Daily Advertiser, March 6, 7, 1794; 
Columbian Gazetteer, March 10, 1794. 

81. It was produced on Oct. 18 and Nov. 10, 1794. See 
American Daily Advertiser (Dunlap and Claypoole's), Oct. 17, 
18, Nov. 10, 1794. 

82. Federal Orrery (Boston), Jan. 4, 1796. 

83. New York Daily Advertiser, May 13, 1795. 

84. New York Magazine or Literary Repository, Vol. 6, 
No. 5, March, 1795, pp. 130-131. 

85. A Twig of Birch for a Butting Calf ; or strictures upon 
the remarks on the emigration of Doctor Joseph Priestly. By 
a Brother of the Buck (New York, 1795), by William Cob- 
bett; Observations on the emigration of Dr. Joseph Priestly, 
and on the several addresses delivered to him, on his arrival 
at New York (Phila., 1794), by Wm. Cobbett. American 
Minerva and the New York Evening Advertiser, June 10, 
1794; The Herald, a Gazette for the County [New York], 
June 16, 1794. The support given to Priestly by the Tammany 
Society was severely criticized, both in America and in Eng- 
land, by those opposed to French ideas. The Gentleman's 
Magazine and Historical Chronicle (London), Vol. 64, Part 
II., June 11, 1794, p. 850, comments on this support in the fol- 
lowing words : " On Monday evening, the Committee ap- 
pointed by the Tammany Society to address their congratula- 
tions to Dr. Priestly, reported their address and his answer, 
both of which were too violent for the decency of an English 
publication." 

86. New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Aug. 24, 
1794. 

87. A compilation of the Messages and Papers of the Presi- 
dents, by James D. Richardson. (Published by authority of 
Congress, 1899), 1:163. 



206 EARLY ACTIVITIES OF THE SOCIETY 

88. For reply of the Democratic Society, see American 
Minerva and Evening Advertiser, Jan. 24, 1795. 

89. New York Daily Advertiser, Jan. 21, 1795. 

90. Ibid., Feb. 4, 1795. The preamble to the address is 
printed on page 138. The resolution stated that the former 
address " conceived in a hurry so mysterious and ushered in 
the world with a precipitation so unprecedented cannot in rea- 
son and does not in fact express the candid opinion and de- 
liberate sentiments of this society, and is therefore con- 
demned as officious, unconsiderate, impolitic and unconstitu- 
tional . . . and does not express the candid opinion and 
deliberate sentiments of the Columbian Order." 

91. Richardson as cited, 1:213. Washington wrote in part: 
" While combinations or associations . . . may now and 
then answer popular ends, they are likely in the course of time 
and things to become potent engines by which cunning, ambi- 
tious and unprincipled men will be enabled to subvert the 
power of the people, and to usurp for themselves the reins of 
government." 

92. Home as cited, p. 695. After the defeat of the Fed- 
eralists in 1800, Hamilton advocated that a Society similar to 
the Tammany Society in scheme of organization and activity 
be organized to support the Federalists. In a letter to Senator 
Bayard of Delaware, he said : " We must consider whether it 
be possible for us [the Federalists] to succeed without in some 
degree employing weapons which have been employed against 
us, and whether the actual state and future prospect of things 
be not such as to justify the reciprocal use of them." Works 
of Alexander Hamilton (New York, 1851), edited by John C. 
Hamilton, VI :540. 



APPENDIX. 



TAMMANY SOCIETIES IN THE UNITED STATES 
I. Prior to May 12, 1789 

1. Philadelphia, Penna. 

1772, May 1 : Sons of King Tammany. 1 
Adopted, or was known under, the following names: 
April 28, 1773. Associate Sons of Saint Tammany. 2 
Jan. 7, 1775. Buckskins of Pennsylvania. 3 
May 1, 1779. Sons of Saint Tammany. 4 
Feb. 22, 1780. Constitutional Society. 5 
May 9, 1781. A Society of Gentlemen. 6 
May 1, 1783. Constitutional Sons of Saint Tammany. 7 
May 1, 1784. Sons of Saint Tammany. 3 

2. Norfolk, Va. 9 
*1774, May 1. 

3. New Jersey. 

*1779, May 1. Society of the Sons of Saint Tammany. 10 

4. Richmond, Va. 

*1785, May 1. Sons of Saint Tammany. 11 

5. Charleston, S. C. 

*1792, May 1. Sons of Saint Tammany. 12 

A. Celebrations in Honor of Saint Tammany 13 

1. Annapolis, Md. 
*1771, May 1. A popular celebration in honor of "Saint 
Tamina" 14 

* Indicates the earliest date found. 

1 Penna. Chronicle, Philadelphia, May 4, 1772. 

2 Penna. Mag. XXV: 446. 

3 Temple of Liberty, Philadelphia, Jan. 7, 1775. 

4 Penna. Packet, May 1, 1779. 

5 Penna. Packet, Philadelphia, Feb. 22, 1780. 

6 Freeman's Journal, Philadelphia, May 9, 1781. 

7 Independent Gazetteer , Philadelphia, May 3, 1783. 

8 Penna. Packet, Philadelphia, May 6, 1784. 

9 Va. Gazette, Purdie & Dixon, May 17-24, 1774. 

10 Location not given; probably at Morristown or its vicinity. 

11 Washington's Diary; Washington after the Revolution, Phila., 1898, 
edited by W. S. Baker, p. 30. 

12 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 19, 3/1, 1792. Prob- 
ably established prior to 1789. 

13 Prior to 1795. 

14 Letters from America, William Eddis, Dec. 24, 1771, pp. 114-115. 

209 



210 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

2. New-Ark, N. J. 

*1779, May 1. By "A Number of Gentlemen of the Army." l 

3. Savannah, Ga. 

*1786, May 1. By "A Number of Gentlemen from the 
Northern States." 2 

4. Harrisburg, Va. 

*1788, May 1. By the militia and the principal farmers.* 

5. Petersburg, Va. 

*1788, May 1. By the militia. 4 

6. Philadelphia, Penna. 

1788, May 1. At Lilliput Wigwam. "On the banks of the 

Delaware and Schuylkill by a variety of social 

circles composed of citizens of this place and New 
Jersey." 5 

1791, May 2. By the Battalion of Artillery and Citizens. 6 

7. Wilmington, N. C. 

♦1788, May 1. By the Federal Club. 7 

8. Norfolk, Va. 

*1789, May 1. By the Gentlemen Volunteers. 8 

II. Subsequent to May 12, 1789 

1. New York City. 
*1787, April 30. St. Tammany's Society. 9 
Continued under the following names: 
May 12, 1789. Sons of St. Tammany. 10 
May 15, 1789. Society of St. Tammany. 11 
May 24, 1789. St. Tammany's Society or Independent 

Order of Liberty. 12 
1789. Saint Tammany's Society or Columbian Order. 11 
Feb. 25, 1790. Society of St. Tammany or Columbian 
Order. 14 

1 New Jersey Journal, May 4, 1779. 
* Mass. Centinel, Boston, July 1, 1786. 

3 Penna. Mercury, Philadelphia, May 24, 1788. 

4 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 22, 1788. 

6 Independent Gazetteer, Philadelphia, May 3, 1788. 

8 Penna. Mag., XXVI: 42. 

7 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 22, 1788. 
« Penna. Mag., XXVII: 40. 

9 New York Daily Advertiser, April 30, 1787. 

10 New York Daily Advertiser, May 12, 1789. 

11 New York Daily Gazette, May 15, 1789. 

12 New York Directory and Register for 1789, p. 132. 

w Public Constitution of the Society of St. Tammany, New York, 1789. 
14 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Feb. 25, 1790. 



APPENDIX 211 

May 14, 1791. Sons of St. Tammany and Columbian 
Order. 1 

Feb. 24; April 6, 1791. Society of Tammany or Colum- 
bian Order. 2 

April 9, 1805. The Society of Tammany, or Columbian 
Order, in the City of New York.' 

2. Charleston, S. C. 

*1792, May 1. Sons of St. Tammany. * 

3. Richmond, Va. 

*1792, May 1. Sons of St. Tammany in the Columbian 
Order. 4 

4. Philadelphia, Penna. 

*1 795. Successor to the Democratic Society of Philadelphia. 6 

5. Baltimore, Md. 8 

1806, Sept. 

6. Alexandria, Va. 7 
*1807, August 1. 

7. Washington City, D. C. 7 

1807, August 1. 

8. Troy, N. Y.« 
*1809. 

9. Providence, R. I. 

1809, Oct. 10. Tammany Society or Columbian Order, 

Beaver Tribe No. I. 9 

10. Apponaug, Warwick, R. I. 

1810, Jan. 27. Tammany Society or Columbian Order, 

Beaver Tribe No. 3, at the tavern of George Carder. 10 

1 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 14, 1791. 

2 Letter from John Pintard. Belknap Papers, III: 490. 

3 Laws of the State of Neiv York, 1805, chapter 115. 

4 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 19, 3/1, 1792. 
B Freeman's Journal, Philadelphia, April 10, 1805. 

8 Constitution of the Tammany Society of Baltimore, in Maryland His- 
torical Society, Baltimore, Md. 

7 MS. Minutes of the Tammany Society of the City of Washington in the 
possession of Wendolin Buole, Chevy Chase, Md. 

8 Magazine of American History, III, No. 6, June, 1879, p. 479; History 
of the City of Troy (Troy, N. Y., 1876), by A. J. Wiese, pp. 86-88. 

9 Providence Phenix, Providence, R. I., Oct. 7, 3/4, 1809. 

10 Providence Phenix, Feb. 3, 3/2, 1810; Providence Journal, May 12, 
1910. 



212 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

11. Newport, R. I. 

1810, Feb. 10. Tammany Society or Columbian Order, 
Beaver Tribe No. 2. 1 

12. Bristol, R. I. 

1810, Feb. Tammany Society or Columbian Order, Beaver 
Tribe No. 4.* 

13. Brookhaven, Long Island, N. Y. 

1810, Feb. 23. Beaver Tribe No. 4 of the State, or No. 1 
of the Island of Nassau, N. Y. 3 

14. Annapolis, Md. 
*1810, May 12. * 

15. Attleborough, Mass. 

1810, Aug. 30. Tammany Society or Columbian Order, 
Panther Tribe No. 1, Massachusetts. At Capt. 
Borune's Inn. This society also met at Rehoboth 
and at Seekhonk, Mass. 5 

16. Rehoboth, Mass. 6 

17. Seekhonk, Mass. 6 

18. Chillicothe, Ohio. 

*1811, June 14. Tammany Society, Wigwam No. I. 7 

19. New Brunswick, N. J. 
1812, Nov. ll.s 

20. Cincinnati, Ohio. 

*1812, Dec. 14. Tammany Society, Wigwam No. 3. 9 

21. Kings County, New York. 

*1813, July 4. At Alex. Whaley's in Bushwick. 10 

22. Lexington, Ky. 

1816, Dec. 2. Sons of Tammany or Brethren of the Colum- 
bian Order. 11 



1 Providence Phenix, Feb. 17, 3/1, 1810. 

2 Rhode Island Republican, Newport, R. I., May 29, 2/3, 1811. 

3 Original Charter in New York Hist. Society. 

4 Providence Phenix, June 13, 2/2, 1810. 

5 Providence Phenix, Sept. 1, 1810; Tammany Societies of Rhode Island, 
Providence, R. I., 1897, by Marcus W. Jernegan, p. 33. 

6 See under Attleborough, Mass. 

7 Letter dated June 14, 1811, from Edward Tiffin, Grand Sachem, to 
President James Madison, MS. L. C. 

8 Original Charter in New York Historical Society. 

9 Letter dated Dec. 14, 1812, from Daniel Symmes, Grand Sachem, to 
President Jas. Madison, MS. L. C. 

10 National Advocate, July 8, 2/4, 1813. 

11 Kentucky Gazette, Lexington, Ky., Dec. 2, 1816. 



APPENDIX 213 

r 

23. Chattanooga, Tenn. 
*1890. Tammany Club. 1 

24. Portland, Oregon. 
1893. Tammany Club. 2 

25. Miscellaneous. 3 
Tammany Society of Georgia. 
Tammany Society of Texas. 

Tammany Society, Cambria County, Penna. 

1 Tammany Times, New York, Vol. II, No. 2, Nov. 18, 1893. 

2 Directory of the City of Portland, Oregon, for 1893. 

3 Mentioned in History of the Tammany Society or Columbian Order ', 
New York, 1901, by E. V. Blake, p. 22. No dates are given or authorities 
cited. 



214 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

TALKS OR ORATIONS DELIVERED 

BEFORE THE 

SOCIETY OF TAMMANY OR COLUMBIAN ORDER 

IN THE CITY OF NEW YORK 

1790, May 12. William Pitt Smith. * At New Brick Church 
Aug. 4. Reception to the Creek Indians: At the Wig- 
wam. Addresses by: 2 

William Pitt Smith, Grand Sachem. 
John Pintard, Sagamore. 

Josiah Ogden Hoffman, Scribe of the Council. 
Reply by : 

Col. Alexander M'Gillivray, Chief of the Creek 
Nation. 

1791, May 12. Josiah Ogden Hoffman. f At Brick Meeting 

House, Chapele Street. 
Subject: Origin of the Columbian Order and the So- 
ciety of the Cincinnati. 

" At the Meeting-house an oration was delivered by their 
Brother Josiah Ogden Hoffman, to the Society, and to a 
most respectable and crowded audience ; in the most brilliant 
and pathetic language he traced the progress of the liberty 
we enjoy; and thence elegantly deduced the origin of the 
Columbian Order, and the Society of Cincinnati." 3 

July 4. Rev. Dr. William Linn. 4 At New Dutch 
Church, Nassau Street. 

Subject : ' 'The Blessings of America — Psalm XVI :6. 
'The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places, 
yea, I have a goodly heritage." 

" Dr. Lynn preached an occasional sermon; which for 
apposite and well adopted thoughts, elegance of composition, 
and animation of delivery, in our opinion, equalled, if not 
excelled anything of the kind we have ever heard. To at- 
tempt to describe the beauties of this discourse would argue 
weakness in an auditor — to say that the composition is a 

flndicates that the oration has not been located. 

1 Printed in New York Magazine or Literary Repository, Vol. I, No. 6 
1790, pp. 290-295. N. Y. H. S. 

a Printed in New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Aug. 10, 1/3, 
1790. 

' New York Daily Advertiser, May 13, 2/4, 1791; Dunlap's American 
Daily Advertiser, May 16, 2/4, 1791. 

4 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 39. New York, 1791. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C 



APPENDIX 215 

masterpiece of oratory, replete with the most refined religious 
and political sentiment, is but justice." x 

" Uncommonly well adapted in all its parts to the occa- 
sion. Inspired with the important ideas which this event 
[July 4] conveys, he spoke with feeling and a surprising 
energy. . . . All eyes were fixed on the great and patriotic 
preacher; while his discourse at once commanded their ad- 
miration and delight." 2 

1792, May 12. Peter R. Livingston. f At New Dutch 
Church, Nassau Street. 

1792, July 4. Rev. Benjamin Foster, f At St. Paul's Chapel. 

Subject: Exodus, chap. XII, ver. 14: "And this 
day shall be unto you for a memorial." 

" An elegant and patriotic sermon from this text: Exodus, 
chapter XII, ver. 14, ' And this day shall be unto you for a 
memorial ' was delivered by the Reverend Mr. Foster." 3 

" Where a well adopted discourse was delivered upon the 
occasion by the Rev. Mr. Foster." 4 

Major Morton. f Brief Address. 5 

July 14. Dr. J. F. Vacher. 6 Celebration in honor of the 

French Revolution. 
Oct. 12. John B. Johnson. f At the Great Wigwam. 

Columbus celebration in honor of the third century 

of the discovery of America. 

" Brother J. B. Johnson addressed the Society with an 
animated eulogy on this nautical hero and astonishing adven- 
turer f Columbus] with great applause." 7 

"An elegant oration was delivered by Mr. J. B. Johnson, 
in which several of the principal events in the life of this 
remarkable man [Columbusl were pathetically described and 
the interesting consequences to which his great achievements 
had already, and must still conduct the affairs of mankind, 
were pointed out in a manner extremely satisfactory." 8 

1793, May 12. Cadwallader D. Colden.f At St. Paul's 

Church. 

Subject : "The Super-excellence of the United States, 

when contrasted with those of despotic countries." 
11 Brother Cadwallader D. Colden delivered to a crowded 

and brilliant audience an animated Talk on the super-excel- 

1 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 6, 3/2, 1791. 

2 New York Daily Advertiser, July 6, 2/5, 1791. 

3 New York Daily Advertiser, July 6, 2/3, 1792. 

4 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 7, 3/4, 1792. 
6 New York Daily Advertiser, July 6, 2/3, 1792. 

6 Printed in New York Daily Advertiser, July 17, 2/4, 1792. N.Y.H.S. 

7 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, Oct. 13, 3/3, 1792. 

8 New York Journal and Patriotic Register. October 17, 3/2 1792. 



216 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

lence of the government and situation of the United States, 
when contrasted with those of despotic countries." 1 

July 4. Rev. Samuel Miller. 2 At Old Presbyterian 

Church. 

Subject: "Christianity the grand source and the 
surest basis of Political Liberty: A Sermon. II 
Corinthians, III, 17: 'And where the spirit of the 
Lord is, there is liberty.' " 

11 The Reverend Mr. Miller addressed the throne of grace, 
and delivered a truly elegant and patriotic discourse from 
these words: ' Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is 
liberty." 2 Cor. iii, 17." 3 

Month not fixed. William P. Smith. 4 At the Wigwam. 
Subject: Observations on conventions made in a 
Tammanial Debate." 

1794, May 12. John B. Johnson. 5 At New Dutch Church. 

Subject: "An oration on Union and Public Spirit." 

" A patriotic oration, showing the advantages of Union 
and Public Spirit, was delivered by Brother John B. Johnson, 
much to the satisfaction of the society and a very numerous 
audience." 6 

July 4. Rev. Joseph Pilmore. 7 At Christ's Church. 

Subject: "The Blessings of Peace: Psalm 132, 1. 
'Behold how good and pleasant it is, for brethren 
to dwell together in unity.' " 

" An elegant and patriotic discourse was delivered to 
them by the Rev. Dr. Pilmore." 8 

1795, May 12. Samuel Latham Mitchill. 9 At Old Presby- 

terian Church. 

Subject: "The life, exploits and precepts of Tam- 
many, the famous Indian Chief." 

" A suitable and elegant oration was delivered to a num- 
erous audience by Dr. Samuel L. Mitchill." 10 

1 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 15, 3/2, 1793. 

2 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 38. New York, 1793. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

3 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 6, 2/3, 1793. 

4 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 13. New York, 1793. N. Y. H. S. 

6 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 24. New York, 1793. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

6 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 14, 3/2, 1793; Ameri- 
can Minerva and New York Evening Advertiser, May 13, 3/3, 1794. 

7 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 32. New York, 1794. N. Y. H. S. 

8 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 9, 3/4, 1794. 

9 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 36. New York, 1795. N. Y. H. S. 

10 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 13, 2/4, 1795; New 
York Daily Advertiser, May 14, 2/5 1795. 



APPENDIX 217 

" It was a sportive thing, done at a time when I had 
inflamed eyes and could not bear the light; at a period, too, 
when political fervor was very hot. ... I intended the 
composition to be a sort of moral romance; yet what was 
my surprise to find it considered by both political parties, a 
deep political allegory." l 

July 4. Rev. Samuel Miller. 2 At New Presbyterian 
Church. 

Subject: "A Sermon: Exodus, XII : 14. 'And this 
day shall be unto you for a memorial.' ' 

" Mr. Miller then delivered a most pathetic and patriotic 
discourse. The discourse was handled in so ingenious and 
masterly a manner, that it excited universal applause — the 
choice of the text was very pertinent; the words were spoken 
by the Lord unto the children of Israel, on the day of their 
freedom from the Egyptian Bondage." 3 

1796, May 12. Teunis Wortman. 4 At Old Presbyterian 

Church. 

Subject: ''The influence of Social Institutions upon 
human morals and happiness." 

" From thence they [the Society] proceeded to the Old 
Presbyterian Church and were there entertained by a long 
talk from their brother Tuenis Wortman, which gave the 
greatest satisfaction. The talk consisted of a retrospective 
view of society in general for ages past down to the present, 
observing with grateful eye, the progress of literature and the 
fine arts — describing the unnatural barbarities of monarchical 
governments, and contrasting them with republican and demo- 
cratical governments — which last were to be preserved only 
by public virtues, in contradistinction to the love of riches, 
power and servile adoration." 5 

July 4. Rev. Joseph Pilmore.f At Christ's Church. 
Subject: "Solemn Discourse: Isaiah, 60:1." 

" Mr Pilmore gave the societies and a crowded audience 
a solemn discourse from Isaiah, 60, 1, with prayer." 6 

1797, May 12. John I. Johnson. 7 At the Great Wigwam. 

Subject: "Reflections on Political Society." 

1 Letter from Mitchill, dated New York, Aug. 9, 1811, to B. F. Thomp- 
son, Long Island. — Wallabout Prison Ship Series, New York, 1865, by 
Henry R. Stiles, p. 182. N. Y. H. S. 

2 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 33. New York, 1795. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

3 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 8, 1/1, 1895. 

4 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 31. New York, 1796. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

5 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 13, 3/1, 1796; Diary 
New York, May 13, 2/4, 1796. 

6 Diary, New York, July 5, 2/5, 1796. 

7 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 19. New York, 1797. N. Y. H. S. 



218 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

" John I. Johnson delivered a political long talk which 
was received with the usual plaudits." 1 

July 4. George James Warner. 2 At New Dutch Church 
Subject: "Means for the Preservation of Public 
Liberty." 

1798, May 12. George I. Eacker. 3 At the Wigwam. 

Subject: "Observations on the National Character 
of the Americans." 

" Brother Geo. I. Eacker, agreeable to appointment, de- 
livered a long talk which for elegance of diction and patriotic 
sentiments, was highly applauded." 4 

July 4. George Clinton, Jun. 5 

" Mr. George Clinton Jun. delivered an oration which 
abounded with many noble and patriotic sentiments and was 
received with unbounded applause." 6 

" The reiterated applauses of the very numerous and 
respectable auditory could not be restrained . . . the expres- 
sion of real patriotism which proceeded from the orator gave 
universal satisfaction." 7 

1799, May 13. George J. Warner. 8 At the Wigwam. 

July 4. Samuel Latham Mitchill. 9 At Brick Presby- 
terian Church. 
Subject: "An address to the citizens of New York." 

1800, May 12. Jonathan Pearss, Jun.f At the Wigwam. 

" An elegant and pertinent oration was delivered to them 
by Brother Jonathan Pearss, Jun." 10 

July 4. Matthew L. Davis. 11 At St. Paul's Church. 

" The oration in point of republican principle and pro- 
priety, did honor to the speaker, and produced the unbounded 
applause of the numerous attendants." 12 

1 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 13, 3/3, 1797. 

* Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 22. New York, 1797. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

• Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 20. New York, 1798. N. Y. H. S. 
4 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, May 19, 2/1, 1798. 

6 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 14. New York, 1798. N. Y. H. S. 

6 Weekly Museum (New York), July 7, 3/1, 1798. 

7 New York Journal and Patriotic Register, July 7, 1/1, 1798. 

8 Printed — 2 columns — in New York Journal and Patriotic Register, 
May 22, 1/2, 1799. 

9 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 27. New York, 1800. N. Y. H. S. 

10 American Citizen and General Advertiser (New York), May 10, 2/2, 
1800. 

"Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 21. New York, 1800. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

12 American Citizen and General Advertiser, July 5, 2/1, 1800. 



APPENDIX 219 

1801, May 12. John McKesson. f At the Wigwam. 

" Brother John McKesson, Scribe of the Council, deliv- 
ered before the brothers, a handsome long talk suitable to 
the occasion." 1 

July 4. George I. Eacker. 2 

1802, May 12. James Carson. 3 At the Wigwam. 

Subject: "The Past and Present State of our 
Country." 
July 4. Nathan Sandford.f At Brick Presbyterian 
Church. 

11 An elegant and didactic oration delivered by Mr. Nathan 
Sandford." 4 

1803, May 12. Samuel Cowdrey. 5 At the Wigwam. 

" An excellent long talk in which he displayed consider- 
able precision and taste, heightened by patriotic sentiment and 
enforced by an impressive and pleasing exhibition of genuine 
eloquence." 6 

July 4. John D. Miller. 7 ! At New Dutch Church. 

" We are glad to see that the very improper remarks made 
in the Federal prints previous to the 4th of July had no 
effect on Mr. Miller, who acquitted himself very hand- 
somely." 8 

1804, May 12. John Forbes.f At the Wigwam. 

July 4. Major John A. Mulligan. f At the Brick Pres- 
byterian Church. 

" To pass by the masterly performance, without a tribut- 
ary remark on the style and manner in which it was written 
and delivered, would be doing injustice to the orator and to 
our feelings. The sentiments were those of '76, couched in 
the glowing language of a patriot and American. . . . The 
ebullitions of a sound heart and correct judgment, and dic- 
tated solely by a pure and ardent love of country." 9 

" The displeasure of the Democrats with Mr. Mulligan 
for his oration delivered before them on the late anniversary 

1 American Citizen and General Advertiser, May 14, 2/2, 1801. 

2 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 23. New York, 1801. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

3 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 16. Phila., 1802. N. Y. P. L. 

4 American Citizen and General Advertiser, July 6, 2/2, 1802. 

6 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 15. New York, 1803. N. Y. H. S. 

6 American Citizen and General Advertiser, May 16, 2/2, 1803. 

7 The selection of John D. Miller, a Republican, as the orator of the day, 
was severely criticised by the Federalist Press. See American Citizen and 
General Advertiser, July 7, 3/2, 1804. 

8 American Citizen and General Advertiser, July 6, 2/2, 1803. 

9 Commercial Advertiser, New York, July 5, 3/1, 1804. 



220 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

of Independence, is unaccountable by all not acquainted with 
the principles which actuated them. The prominent feature 
in the oration was an encomium on the administration of 
President Washington. Why should this offend them?" x 

" Was it becoming, decorous, manly, or generous to 
mingle in your oration opinions which could not fail to give 
high and just offense to your brother officers? You sink the 
character of a soldier in that of a party politician." 2 

" Your language was neither bold nor figuratively beauti- 
ful." 3 

1805, May 12. Name of orator not found. 

July 4. Samuel Cowdrey.t At New Dutch Church. 

1806, May 12. John Ferguson. f At the Wigwam. 

July 4. Peter H. Wendover. 4 At New Dutch Church. 
Subject: "National Deliverance." 

1807, May 12. Benjamin Romaine.f At the Wigwam. 
July 4. Richard Hatfield, Jun.f At the Brick Presby- 
terian Church. 

1808, April 6. Joseph D. Fay. 5 At the Wallabout, L. I. 

On Laying the Corner Stone of the Prison Ship 
Martyr's Vault. 

" A Speech highly animated and appropriate. The pic- 
tures which he drew of the sufferings of the heroes and 
martyrs of American liberty, were painted to the life. Many 
of the survivors of British cruelty were present, and to the 
tears of sympathy which others shed, added those of bitter 
remembrance. The orator had many circumstances in his 
favor, and he could not fail to improve them. . . . The air 
was serene — the sky unclouded — nature appeared to listen 
and approve. The introduction which he made was beauti- 
fully concise and energetic." 6 

May 28 John D. Miller. f At the Wigwam. 

" The orator was attentively heard with repeated shouts 
of approval; without attempting anything fulsome, the orator 
acquitted himself handsomely. His sentiments were ani- 
mated and breathed the pure patriotism of an American." 7 



1 Commercial Advertiser, July 6, 2/5, 1804. 

2 American Citizen and General Advertiser, July 7, 3/2, 1804. 

3 American Citizen and General Advertiser, July 11, 3/2, 1804. 

4 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 16. New York, 1806. N. Y. H. S. 

5 Printed in An account of the Procession . . . with extracts of the 
oration delivered at the Wallabout, L. I., April 6, 1808, pp. 5-13; A brief 
account of the origin and progress of the Tammany Society, New York, 1838, 
pp. 10-11; American Citizen and General Advertiser, April 12, 2/3, 1808. 

6 A Brief account of the Origin and Progress of the Tammany Society , p. 10. 

7 The Public Advertiser, New York, May 14, 2/3, 1808. 



APPENDIX 221 

May 26. Rev. Ralph Williston. * At the Wallabout, L. I. 

Subject: "A Prayer to the God of Battles." 
May 26. Benjamin DeWitt. 2 At the Wallabout, L. I. 

Subject: "Oration at the Tomb of the Patriots." 

" An address finely composed and delivered amid the 
enthusiastic plaudits of the surrounding spectators." 3 

July 4. Joseph D. Fay.f At the Brick Presbyterian 
Church. 

1809, May 12. Name of orator not found. 

July 4. John Treat Irving [The Elder]. 4 At North West 
Dutch Church. 

1810, May 12. John Treat Irving [The Elder]." At the 

Wigwam. 

" An Excellent Long Talk was delivered by Brother John 
T. Irving to a very numerous and respectable audience." 6 

July 4. Rev. Hooper Cumming, D.D. 7 At the Presby- 
terian Church. 

1811, May 13. Alpheus Sherman. f Laying Cornerstone 

of New Wigwam. 

11 Mr. Sherman, the orator of the day, delivered an oration 
extremely appropriate to the occasion." 8 

July 4. Samuel Berrian. 9 At East Rutgers Street 
Church. 

1812, May 12. Name of orator not found. 
July 4. Samuel B. Romaine. 10 

'• Gratified by an oration from S. B. Romaine, Esq., of 
which report speaks in the highest term of approbation." 11 

1813, May 12. Benjamin Romaine. 12 Tammany Hall. 

1 Printed in Wallabout Prison Ship Series, by Henry R. Stiles, M.D., 
p. 131. 

2 Printed in Wallabout Prison Ship Series. Edited by W. R. Stiles, 
New York, 1865, p. 136. 

3 American Citizen and General Advertiser, May 28, 2/3, 1808. 

4 Printed separately: 8vo. pp. 23. New York, 1809. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

6 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 17. New York, 1810. N. Y. H. S. 

6 Columbian, New York, May 14, 2/5, 1810. 

7 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 14. New York, 1810. N. Y. P. L. 

8 Columbian, May 16, 3/1, 1811. 

9 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 20. New York, 1811. N. Y. H. S. 

10 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 16. New York, 1812. N. Y. H. S. 

11 Columbian, July 6, 2/4, 1812. 

12 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 16. New York, 1813. N. Y. H. S. 



222 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

July 5. John Rodman. 1 At the Brick Presbyterian 
Church. 

1814, May 12. Matthew L. Davis. f At Tammany Hall. 

" An oration appropriate, animated, and patriotic was 
delivered by Brother M. L. Davis, who spontaneously brought 
forth the repeated acclamations of applause from a numerous 
and respectable auditory." 2 

July 4. Henry Wheaton.f Anthony Street Theatre. 

1815, May 12. Samuel Hawkins. f At Tammany Hall. 

"An animated and appropriate address." 3 
July 4. Samuel Berrian. 4 At Anthony Street Theatre. 

1816, May 12. Joseph D. Fay.f At Tammany Hall. 

" An oration was pronounced by Joseph D. Fay, Esq., to 
a numerous assembly and received the highest proofs of 
approbation. It reflected honor on the orator's feelings and 
judgment; its every sentence was stamped with the energy 
of Republican sentiment and love of country." 5 

July 4. Charles D. Ferris. f At the Spring Street 
Church. 

1817, May 12. Name of orator not found. 

1817, July 4. Moses Mordecai Noah.f At the Presby- 

terian Church. 

" An oration appropriate to the occasion." 6 

1818, May 12. Samuel B. Romaine.f At Tammany Hall. 

" The company was numerous and respectable — especially 
the female part. To say that the orator was eloquent would 
be but common praise — he soared aloft into the regions of 
conjecture and improbability and exhibited to his admiring 
auditors a clear view of invisible things. . . . The eyes of a 
Martling-man have very astonishing magnifying powers. 
Monstrous distortions are perpetually in his view. He sees 
nothing through a true medium." 7 

July 4. William M. Price. f At Popin's Circus. 

" The oration deserved a unanimous applause, and re- 
ceived it in the warmest possible manner; and when we duly 
take into view the orator and the audience, this circumstance 
may be regarded as an evidence that this is indeed ' an era 
of good feeling.' " 8 

1 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 24. New York, 1813. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

2 National Advocate, May 13, 2/3, 1814. 

3 Columbian, May 13, 2/1, 1815. 

4 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 32. New York, 1815. N. Y. H. S. 

6 Columbian, May 14, 2/1, 1816. 

• National Advocate, July 7, 2/3, 1817. 

7 Columbian, May 14, 2/1, 1818. 

8 Columbian, July 6, 2/1, 1818. 



APPENDIX 223 

1819, May 12. Moses Mordecai Noah.f At Tammany 

Hall. 

Subject: "The Rise, Progress and Fall of Empires." 

July 4. James W. Gerard. f At the Baptist Church, 
Mulberry Street. 

Subject: "The Principles of Political Equalities, 
the Foundation of the Tammany Society." 

Oct. 4. Address of the Society of Tammany or Colum- 
bian Order to its absent members and the members 
of its several branches throughout the United States. 1 

1820, May 12. John Woodward. t At Tammany Hall. 
July 4. Edward Livingston. f At the Baptist Church, 

Mulberry Street. 

1821, May 12. Stephen Cambreleng.f At Tammany Hall. 
July 4. Thomas F. King.f At the Baptist Church, 

Mulberry Street. 

" The language was pure, it was delivered with animation 
and eloquence, and what was of more importance, it was 
entirely free from party bearing." 2 

1822, May 13. John H. Sackett. 3 At Tammany Hall. 

Subject: "An Inquiry into the origin and tendency 
of political institutions." 
July 4. Stephen Cambreleng.f At the Franklin Street 
Church. 

1823, May 12. Moses Mordecai Noah.f At Tammany Hall. 
July 4. Name of orator not found. At the Baptist 

Church, Mulberry Street. 

1824, May 12. Name of orator not found. 

July 4. Luther Clark.f At the Baptist Church, Mul- 
berry Street. 

1825, May 12. Lemuel Smith. f At Tammany Hall. 

Subject: "Original Organization of the Tammany 
Society." 
July 4. Elisha L. Avery. 4 f At the Baptist Church, 
Mulberry Street. 

1826, May 12. Name of orator not found. 

1 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 29. New York, 1819. N. Y. H. S. ; 
N. Y. P. L. 

2 New York Evening Journal and Patron of Industry, July 5, 2/2, 1821. 
' Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 19. New York, 1822. N. Y. P. L. 

4 National Advocate, July 4, 1825. 



224 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

July 4. Abner Kneeland. 1 ! At the Baptist Church, 
Mulberry Street. 
1827 to 1830, May 12— July 4. No data found. 
1831, May 12. Meyer Moses. 2 At Tammany Hall. 

" The orator was exceedingly happy in the selection of 
his topics and in the manner of treating them." 3 

" The Long Talk was distinguished for enlarged and patri- 
otic sentiments, and correct views: — it was received with 
great approbation." 4 

Responses to Toasts. 

Edward P. Livingston. 5 Stephen Cambreleng. 6 

" Mr. Cambreleng spoke at length, and with great 
ability." 7 

1831, July 4, to May 12, 1862. No data found. 

1852, July 4. John C, Mather, f 

" A very clever production and was well received." 8 

1853, July 4. Lorenzo B. Sheppard. 9 f 

1854, July 4. Lorenzo B. Sheppard, 10 John Cochrane.! 

1855, July 4. Col. Alexander Ming. 11 

Subject: Origin of Tammany. 

" During the delivery of the oration, the few ladies who 
at first graced the assembly retired from the room, excepting 
one solitary female, whose nerves happened to be sufficiently 
strong to endure the vehement enunciation of the speaker 
and the tumultuous stamping of the braves." 12 

Lorenzo B. Sheppard. 13 Acting Grand Sachem. 

1 The name of the Tammany Society does not appear in the order of 
procession for the Independence celebration of this year, and it is not 
positive that its members joined with the other societies to hear the 
address of Kneeland. 

2 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 31. New York, 1831. N. Y. H. S.; 
L. C. 

3 Evening Post, New York, May 13, 3/1, 1831. 

4 Morning Courier and New- York Enquirer, May 14, 1/6, 1831. 

5 Printed, x /i column, in Morning Courier and New-York Enquirer, 
May 14, 1/7, 1831. 

6 Printed, \}/& columns, in Morning Courier and N ew- York Enquirer , 
May 14, 1/7, 1831. 

7 Evening Post, May 13, 2/1, 1831. 

8 New York Tribune, July 7, 5/1, 1852. 

9 New York Tribune, July 6, 5/6, 1853. 

10 Printed, in part, New York Times, July 6, 2/5, 1854. 

11 Printed, in full, New York Times, July 6, 1/4, 1855. 

12 New York Tribune, July 6, 7/3, 1855. 

13 Printed in full, New York Times, July 6, 1/4, 1855. 



APPENDIX 225 

1856, July 4. Horace F. Clark. t 

Lorenzo B. Sheppard, Grand Sachem. 1 

1857 , July 4. No public addresses because of the death of 

Lorenzo B. Sheppard and Wm. H. Cornell. 1 

1858, July 4. Caleb Cushing. 3 Wm. Mc Murray. 3 

Subject: " Origin and Custom of the Cap of 
Liberty." 
Isaac M. Fowler, f Grand Sachem. 

1859, July 4. Andrew H. Green. f Francis B. Tillou.f 

John Kelly, 4 Acting Grand Sachem. 

1860, July 1. Stephen A. Douglas. 5 

July 4. John Cochrane.! John Kelly. 6 ! 

1861, July 4. Gen. Hiram H. Walbridge. 7 

1862, July 4. Chas. P. Daly. 8 

Nelson J. Waterbury, Grand Sachem. 9 
Hiram H. Walbridge. 10 

Responses to Toasts. 11 
August Belmont. Chas. P. Daly. 

Henry L. Clinton. Harry Hilton. 

Richard B. Connolly. Elijah F. Purdy. 

1863, July 4. Henry C. Murphy. 12 

Elijah F. Purdy, Grand Sachem. 13 
Responses to Toasts. 14 
Cyril H. Brackett. Geo. W. McLean. 

Ward B. Burnett. Hosea B. Perkins. 

Henry L. Clinton. Edwards Pierrepont. 

Robert C. Hutchings. Horatio Seymour. 

1 Printed in full, New York Herald, July 6, 1/3, 1856. 

2 New York Times, July 4, 1/4, 1857; New York Herald, July 4, 1857. 

3 Printed in full, New York Times, July 7, 1/6, 1858. 

4 New York Tribune, July 6, 6/5, 1859. 

6 Printed in full, New York Herald, July 2, 1860. 

6 New York Times, July 6, 5/1, 1860. 

7 Printed in part, % column, New York Tribune, July 6, 1/2, 1861. 

8 Printed in "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 
4th, 1862," pp. 22-34. 

9 Ibid., pp. 5-8. 

10 Ibid., pp. 35-36; New York Tribune, \i column, July 5, 8/1, 1862. 

11 "Annnal Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4th, 1862," 
pp. 37-48. 

12 Printed in "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 
4, 1863." pp. 17-30. 

« Ibid., p. 7; New York Herald, July 6, 2/4, 1863. 
14 " Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 1863," 
pp. 31-53. 



226 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

1864, July 4. A. Oakey Hall. 1 

Elijah F. Purdy, Grand Sachem. 1 

Responses to Toasts.* 

(Judge) Cowles. Eli P. Norton. 

1865, July 4. 

Gen. Francis B. Spinola. 4 Elijah F. Purdy,' 

Grand Sachem. 
Hiram B. Smith. 6 Samuel J. Tilden. 7 

"Three cheers were then given for Hon. H. B. Smith, 
and his patriotic speech." 6 

1866, July 4. Richard O'Gorman. 8 

'The orator then raised his musical, but Cassandra-like 
voice, in pessimistic threatenings as to the near future of 
the Nation's fate." 9 

John T. Hoffman, 10 Grand Sachem. 
Samuel Sullivan [" Sunset "] Cox. 11 
Edwards Pierrepont. 12 

1867, July 4. Gulian C. Verplanck. 13 

1 Printed in: "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 
4, 1864," pp. 9-20; New York World, July 6, 2/1, 1864; separately: 8vo. 
pp. 12, New York: 1864. N. Y. H. S. 

2 Printed in "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 
4, 1864," pp. 6-7. 

3 Ibid., pp. 20-25. 

4 Printed in "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 
4, 1865," pp. 13-15. 

6 Ibid., pp. 8-9. 

6 Ibid., pp. 15-17. 

7 Ibid., pp. 19-21; New York World, Y 2 column, July 5, 2/3, 1865. 

8 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1866," pp. 25-45; New York World, 2% columns, July 5, 1/2, 1866; New 
York Times, July 5, 1/4, 1866; New York Herald, July 5, 1/6, 1866. 

9 History of the Tammany Society or Columbian Order, by E. V. 
Blake, p. 91. 

10 Printed in : "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1866," pp. 10-13; New York World, Y 2 column, July 5, 1/2, 1866; New 
York Herald, July 5, 1/6, 1866. 

11 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1866," pp. 45-51; New York World, % column, July 5, 1/2, 1866. 

12 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1866," pp. 51-59; New York World, 1 column, July 5, 1/2, 1866. 

13 Printed in: "Proceedings of the Tammany Society . . . on laying 
the corner stone . . . July 4, 1867," pp. 19-44; New York Times, July 5, 
1/3, 1867; New York Herald, July 6, 6/2, 1867; New York World, July 5, 
1/1, 1867. 



APPENDIX 227 

" With a somewhat enfeebled voice, but with great pre- 
cision in enunciation and grace of gesture." 1 

John T. Hoffman, 2 Grand Sachem. 

" It was an address remarkable for chaste simplicity and 
apt expression. 3 

Samuel Sullivan Cox. 4 
A. Oakey Hall. 5 

1868, July 4. No celebration. Democratic National Conven- 

tion in Tammany Hall, July 4, 1868. 

1869, July 4. John Potter Stockton, 6 U. S. Senator from 

New Jersey. 

William M. Tweed, 7 Grand Sachem. 

George W. Miller. 8 Samuel B. Garvin. 10 

A. Oakey Hall. 9 John R. Fellows. 11 

" The Grand Sachem was no other than our mild-man- 
nered, gentle and polite city official, the Hon. William M. 
Tweed." 12 

" The sentiments of Mr. Miller's strong argumentative 
address were frequently and loudly applauded, and it ap- 
peared to be generally regarded as an effort of which the 
speaker, Tammany, and the entire Democratic party might 
be proud." 13 

" A felicitously humorous speech." 9 

" A rambling speech [Fellows] of excruciating duration." 14 



1 "Proceedings of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 1867," p. 19. 

2 Printed in: "Proceedings of the Tammany Society ... on laying 
the corner stone . . . July 4, 1867," p. 10-11; New York Herald, July 6, 
6/2, 1867. 

'"Proceedings of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 1867," p. 11. 
4 Ibid, pp. 45-58. 
6 Ibid, pp. 58-62. 

6 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 5, 
1869," pp. 18-36; New York World, 2 columns, July 6, 1/6, 1869. 

7 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 5, 
1869," pp. 9-10; New York Herald, 1/6 of a column, July 6, 7/2, 1869; 
New York Sun, July 6, 1/2, 1869. 

8 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 5, 
1869," pp. 36-44; New York World, Y 2 column, July 6, 1/6, 1869. 

9 Ibid, pp. 48-56; New York World, July 6, 1/6, 1869. 

10 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 5, 
1869," pp. 16-18; New York World, Y z column, July 6, 1/6, 1869. 

11 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 5, 
1869," pp. 57-63. 

12 New York Sun, July 6, 1/2, 1869. 

13 " Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 5, 1869." 

14 New York Herald, July 6, 7/2, 1869. 



228 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

1870, July 4. Eugene Casserly, 1 "The Democratic Warrior 

from the Pacific," U. S. Senator from California. 
William M. Tweed, 2 Grand Sachem. 

" Mr. Tweed . . . with coolness, but delighting modesty, 
welcomed brothers and guests." 3 

Samuel Sullivan Cox. 4 

" His speech was frequently interrupted by laughter and 
applause, but it appears, as the speeches of that honorable 
gentleman always do, sparkling and happy in the pages of 
Tammany record." 5 

James Brooks. 6 

1871, July 4. Gen Theodore Runyon, 7 Governor of New- 

Jersey. 

W T illiam M. Tweed, 8 Grand Sachem. 

Clarkson N. Potter. 9 Richard G'Gorman.j 

(Judge) Friedman.! Mr. Hili.f 

1872, July 4. 

James Brooks. 10 Gen. J. Martin McMahon." 

August Schell, 11 William R. Roberts, f 

Grand Sachem. Elisha P. Norton, j 

Samuel Sullivan Cox. 12 John W. Chanler.f 



1 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1870," pp. 10-51; New York World, in part, July 5, 1/2, 1870; New York 
Tribune, 1/8 column, July 5, 1/6, 1870. 

2 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1870," pp. 8-9; New York World, 1/5 column, July 5, 1/2, 1870; New York 
Tribune, 1/6 column, July 5, 1/6, 1870 

3 " Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 1870," p. 8. 

4 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1870," pp. 54-65; New York Times, July 5, 1/4, 1870. 

6 " Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 1870," p. 54. 

6 Printed in: " Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1870," pp. 65-75. 

7 Printed in New York Times, July 5, 5/1, 1871. 

8 Printed in: New York Times, July 6, 5/1, 1871; New York Sun, July 5, 
2/4, 1871; New York Tribune, July 5, 1/6, 1871. 

9 Printed in: New York Sun, July 5, 2/4, 1871; New York Tribune, 
% column, July 5. 1/6, 1871. 

10 Printed, in part: New York Herald, July 5, 2/2, 1872; New York 
World, July 5, 1/1, 1872; New York Times, July 5, 1/3, 1872; New York 
Sun, July 5, 1/1, 1872; New York Tribune, 1/5 column, July 5, 1/6, 1872. 

11 Printed in full: New York Sun, July 5, 1/1, 1872; New York World, 
July 5, 1/1, 1872; New York Times, July 5, 1/3, 1872. 

12 Printed in full, New York World, July 5, 1/1, 1872. 



APPENDIX 229 

1873, July 4. 

Clarkson N. Potter. 1 Samuel Sullivan Cox. s 

Augustus Schell, 2 Rufus F. Andrews. 7 

Grand Sachem. Delano C. Calvin. 8 

Abraham R. Lawrence. 3 Gen. Francis B. Spinola. 10 

" The sentiments of Mr. Lawrence were frequently and 
loudly applauded, the speaker appeared to be generally re- 
garded with feelings of pride by the spectators." 4 

" The remarks of Mr. Cox were enthusiastically received 
by the audience, and frequently interrupted by applause." 4 

" The sentiments of Mr. Calvin's argumentative address 
were frequently and loudly applauded." 9 

1874, July 4. 

James S. Thayer. 11 Fernando Wood. 14 

Augustus Schell. 12 Rufus S. Andrew.! 

Samuel Sullivan Cox. 13 

1875, July 4. 

Samuel Sullivan Cox. 15 Delano C. Calvin, f 

Augustus Schell, William A. Boyd.| 

Grand Sachem. William A. Robinson. 

A. Lee Knott. 16 John W. Knox.j 



1 Printed in: " Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1873," pp. 10-33; separately: 8vo, pp. 28, New York, 1873. N. Y. H. S. 

2 Printed in: " Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1873," pp. 7-8; New York World, July 5, 1/6, 1873. 

3 Printed in " Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1873," pp. 35-36. 

4 " Celebrations of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 1873," p. 8. 

5 Printed in: "Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 
1873," pp. 37-47; New York Sun, July 5, 1/1, 1873. 

6 " Celebrations of the Tammany Society . . . July 4, 1873," p. 47. 
"Ibid, pp. 48-51. 

8 Ibid, pp. 51-58. 

9 Ibid, p. 58. 

10 Ibid, pp. 58-62. 

11 Printed, in full: New York World, 2 columns, July 5, 1/6, 1874; 
New York Herald, July 5, 4/2, 1874; New York Times, July 5, 1/6, 1874; 
New York Tribune, July 6, 2/1, 1874. 

12 Printed, in full: New York World, July 5, 1/6, 1874; New York 
Herald, July 5, 4/2, 1874; New York Times, Julv 5, 1/6, 1874. 

13 Printed in full: New York World, % column, July 5, 1/6, 1874; New 
York Herald, July 5, 4/2, 1874; New York Tribune, Y z column, July 6, 
2/1, 1874. 

14 Printed in full: Y 2 column, New York World, July 5, 1/6, 1874; 
New York Times, July 5, 1/6, 1874. 

15 Printed in full, 5 columns, New York World, July 5, 1/6, 1875. 

16 Printed in full, New York Herald, July 6, 6/2, 1875. 



230 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

1876, July 4. Fernando Wood. 1 

Augustus Schell, Grand Sachem.* 

John Kelly. 3 

Thomas Y. Syrnonds of South Carolina, f 

Erastus Brooks, f 

Delano C. Calvin. | 

William A. Robinson. t 

1877, July 4. Samuel Sullivan Cox. 4 

Subject: "De Jure et de Facto — The Right and the 

Fact." 
Augustus Schell, 5 Grand Sachem. 
Gen. Benj. F. Spinola.j J- W. Browning. f 
William A. Bcyd.f Thos. C. E. Ecclesine.f 

Benj. A. Willis. f Christopher Fine.f 

" The speeches were all of the clap-trap order." 6 

1878, July 4. Gilbert C. W T alker, 7 Ex-Governor of Virginia. 

Michael J. A. McCaffery. 9 Gen. F. B. Spinola.| 

Samuel Sullivan Cox. 10 William Van Wyck.f 

Thomas C. Ecclesine, Thomas F. Grady, f 

of New York.f David McAdam.f 

William E. Robinson, f Hosea B. Perkins, f 

" His [Walker] address was carefully prepared but was 
delivered in so low a tone as not to be heard by the mass of 
people in the hall . . . ; for the most part the address did 
not excite much enthusiasm in the audience." 8 

1879, July 4. 

William Dorsheimer. 11 



Printed in full: New York Herald, July 5, 2/2, 1876; New York 
World, 2 columns, July 5, 2/2, 1876; New York Tribune, % column, 
July 5, 1/8, 1876; separately: 8vo, pp. 8, New York, 1876. N. Y. P. L. 

2 Printed in full: New York Times, July 5, 8/1, 1876; New York Sun, 
July 5, 1/1, 1876. 

* Printed in part, 1/8 column, New York Tribune, July 5, 1/8, 1876. 

4 Printed in part: New York World, % column, July 5, 5/2, 1877; 
New York Times, July 5, 6/1, 1877; New York Sun, July 5, 3/1, 1877; 
separately: 8vo, pp. 54. New York, 1877. N. Y. P. L. 

5 Printed in full, New York Tribune, 1/8 column, July 5, 3/1, 1877. 

6 New York Times, July 5, 6/1, 1877. 

7 Printed in full, New York Herald, July 5, 3/1, 1878; in part: New 
York Times, July 5, 8/1, 1878; New York Tribune, % column, July 5, 
3/1, 1878. 

s New York Tribune, July 5, 3/1, 1878. 

9 Printed in full, New York Herald, July 5, 3/1, 1878. 

10 Printed in part, New York Times, July 5, 8/1, 1878. 

11 Printed in full: New York Times, July 5, 8/8, 1879; New York 
Herald, July 5, 8/1, 1879; New York Tribune, Y 2 column, July 5, 8/1, 1879. 



APPENDIX 231 

Benj. H. Hill 1 of Georgia. Thos. F. Grady. f 

John Cotter Smith, f Mr. King of Louisiana. f 

Benj. A. Willis. | F. F. Vanderveer.f 

1880, July 5. 

George Ticknor Curtis. 2 Gen. F. B. Spinola.f 

Jerome Buck.f John Kelly, f 

William E. Robinson, f James H. Lyddy.f 
Thomas F. Grady, f 

" Mr. Curtis read his address from printed slips and occu- 
pied one hour and three quarters in so doing." 3 

1881, July 4. Usual exercises abandoned because of the 

assassination of President James A. Garfield. 

John Kelly. 4 — Brief remarks of sympathy and re- 
gret. 

1882, July 4. John Kelly (Leader of Tammany Hall). 

Subject: " The rise and progress of the United States 
and of the political parties therein." 
John B. Haskins.f James M. Lyddy.j 

Patrick Cavan.f Thomas F. Grady, f 

Michael H. Sigerson.f Thomas G. White, f 

11 Kelly spoke from a slip in his hand, and his delivery 
became very monotonous as he read his speech and the 
audience began to show signs of impatience." 5 

1883, July 4. Wm. Bourke Cockran 6 (of Irving Hall). 

Thomas C. E. Ecclesine (of the County Democracy).! 
Orlando B. Potter, f 
Thomas F. Grady. t 

1884, July 4. Samuel Sullivan Cox.f 

Subject: "Old and new landmarks: 'Thou shalt 
not remove thy neighbor's landmarks.' — Deuter- 
onomy." 

John Kelly. 7 

James P. Reid.f 

George H. Stokes, f 

1 Printed in part, 1 column, New York Tribune, July 5, 8/1, 1879. 

2 Printed in part: New York Times, July 6, 8/1, 1880; New York 
Sun, July 6, 1/2, 1880; New York Tribune, Y 2 column, July 6, 1/4, 1880 

3 New York Tribune, July 6, 1/4, 1880. 

4 Printed in full in New York Times, July 5, 8/3, 1881. 

5 New York World, July 5, 2/1, 1882. 

6 Printed in part, 3i$ column, New York Tribune, July 5, 8/3, 1883; 
in full, New York Star, July 5, 1883. 

7 Printed in full in: New York Tribune, }4 column, July 5, 8/1, 1884; 
New York Times, July 5, 3/1, 1884. 



232 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

1885, July 4. Orlando B. Potter, f 

"Richelieu" (Wm. E.) Robinson. f 
Eugene S. Ives.j 
A. B. Tappan.f 
Dennis McMahon.f 

1886, July 5. Zebulon B. Vance, United States Senator 

from North Carolina, f 
Samuel J. Randall. f 
J. Randolph Tucker. f 
F. H. Murphy, of Iowa.f 
Wm. A. McAdoo, of New Jersey. t 

1887, July 4. Fitzhugh Lee, 1 Governor of Virginia. 

E. Willis Wilson, 2 Governor of West Virginia. 
James A. Flack, 3 Grand Sachem. 
Wm. C. Maybury, 4 of Michigan. 
Barnes Compton, 5 of Maryland. 
Samuel Sullivan Cox. 6 

" A dapper little man with a sleek suit of black, a high- 
standing collar, a white silk neck tie and an onyx and diamond 
pin." 7 

Samuel J. Randall. 8 

1888, July 4. At Academy of Music. 9 

Geo. W. Vest, 10 United States Senator from Missouri. 

Roger 0. Mills, 11 of Texas. 

James A. Flack, 12 Grand Sachem. 

Patrick A. Collins, of Boston.]' 

Benjamin F. Shively, of Indiana.! 

James B. McCreary, of Kentucky, f 

Melbourne H. Ford, of Michigan.! 

1 Printed in :" Celebration ... by the Tammany Society, . . . July 
4, 1887," pp. 11-27; New York World, % column, July 5, 1887; New 
York Tribune x Yz column, July 5, 2/4, 1887. 

2 Printed in " Celebration ... by the Tammany Society, . . . July 
4, 1887," pp. 27-34. 

3 Ibid., pp. 10-11. 

4 Ibid., pp. 34-37. 

6 Ibid., pp. 37-41. 

eibid., pp. 42-60; New York Times, July 5, 8/1, 1887. 

7 New York Times, July 5, 8/1, 1887. 

8 Printed in full, New York Sun, July 5, 2/6, 1887. 

9 Tammany Hall partially burned, June 6, 1888. 

10 Printed in full, New York Sun, July 5, 1/7, 1888; in part: New York 
Herald, July 5, 3/4, 1888; New York Times, July 5, 8/1, 1888. 

11 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 12, n.p., n.d.; in full, New York Sun, 
July 5, 1/7, 1888. 

12 Printed in full, New York Herald, July 5, 3/4, 1888. 



APPENDIX 233 

Samuel Sullivan Cox, of New York.f 
Gen. Chas. E. Hooker, of Mississippi.! 
Levi Marsh, of Pennsylvania. f 
B. T. Biggs, Governor of Delaware, f 
Wm. Bourke Cockran, of New York.j 
1 889, July 4. Wm. Bourke Cockran. 1 

" The distinguished orator was greeted with hearty 
applause." 2 

" His oration was an elegant tribute to republican govern- 
ment as opposed to monarchical and aristocratic forms, and 
earnestly combated the notion that the present was an age 
of degeneracy." 3 

" Counselor Cockran walked almost as far as he talked; 
a caged lion is not to be compared to him in pedestrianism." 4 

James B. Eustis, 6 United States Senator from 
Louisiana. 

" Senator Eustis was received with great applause." 6 
" Mr. Eustis had carefully prepared his speech. . . . 
In delivery and substance it was a dismal failure. . . . While 
her husband was speaking her [Mrs. J. B. Eustis] glasses 
were at her eyes all the time, excepting when she shivered 
and let them drop involuntarily because he spoke of ' Tom ' 
Jefferson as ' Jack.' " 4 

B. T. Biggs, Governor of Delaware. f 

" Governor Biggs is a tall, spare, elderly gentleman, with 
long white hair, a keen, intellectual face, and eyes that 
flashed the alternating enthusiasm and humor of his address." 7 

" The grotesque character of the Governor's speech was 
enhanced by his defense of the whipping post . . . and of 
the poll tax." 8 

James A. Flack, 9 Grand Sachem. 

C. W. Wilson, Governor of West Virginia. f 

" A tall, slightly built man, under the middle age, with 
high forehead, keen blue eyes, and a heavy brown mustache. 

1 Printed in: " Centennial Celebration ... of the Society of Tammany 
. . . , July 4th, 1889," pp. 17-36; New York Sun, July 5, 3/1, 1889. 

2 " Centennial Celebration ... of the Society of Tammany . . . , 
July 4th, 1889," p. 17. 

3 New York Tribune, July 5, 2/6, 1889. 

4 New York Times, July 5, 3/1, 1889. 

5 Printed in: " Centennial Celebration . . . of the Society of Tammany 
. . . , July 4th, 1889," pp. 36-46; New York Sun, July 5, 3/1, 1889. 

6 " Centennial Celebration ... of the Society of Tammany . . . , 
July 4th, 1889," p. 36. 

7 " Centennial Celebration ... of the Society of Tammany . . . , 
July 4th, 1889," p. 46. 

8 New York Tribune, July 5, 2/1, 1889. 

9 Printed in " Centennial Celebration ... of the Society of Tammany 
. . . , July 4th, 1889," pp. 15-16. 



234 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

He is a vehement speaker. His address was logical, scholarly 
and very eloquent; he traced the history of the two parties 
down from the constitution to the present time." 1 

" Wilson assumed a wild and untamed demeanor which 
greatly amused his auditors." 2 

B. F. Shively, of Indiana. f 

"A tall, broad-shouldered, handsome young man, with 
black hair and mustache." 3 

1890, July 4. Wm. D. Bynum, of Indiana.f 

" Bill Bynum the Hercules of Indiana read his piece, 
which was a dreary effort against the Federal election Bill."* 

Chas F. Crisp, of Georgia. f 

" Crisp pleasantly distinguished himself by a short 
address." 4 

B. T. Biggs, of Indiana.! 
Jno. M. Allen, of Mississippi 4 
William Springer, of Indiana.f 
Benton McMillan, of Tennessee. f 
Asher B. Caruth, of Kentucky. f 
James Ker, of Pennsylvania, f 
Theo. Wilkinson, of Louisiana. f 
B. G. Enloe, of Texas. f 
S. S. Yoder, of Ohio.f 
Charles H. Mansur, of Missouri.! 

1891, July 4. A. H. Colquitt, 5 United States Senator from 

Georgia. 

" During the address the Senator was frequently inter- 
rupted by applause." 6 

Charles F. Crisp, 7 of Georgia. 



1 " Centennial Celebration . . . of the Society of Tammany . . ., 
July 4th, 1889," p. 47. 

2 New York Tribune, July 5, 2/1, 1889. 

* " Centennial Celebration ... of the Society of Tammany . . ., 
July 4th, 1889," p. 49. 

* New York Tribune, July 5, 2/1, 1890. 

5 Printed in: " Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . ., 
July 4th, 1891," pp. 21-39; New York Sun, July 5, 7/1, 1891. 

6 " Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society .... July 4th, 
1891," p. 39. 

7 Printed in: "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . , July 
4th, 1891," pp. 40-62; New York Sun, July 5, 7/1, 1891 



APPENDIX 235 

Benton McMillan, 1 of Tennessee. 

Subject: "History of the Democratic Party since 

1801." 
Thomas F. Gilroy, 1 Grand Sachem. 
George A. Cooper, 5 of Indiana. 
Thomas F. Grady, 4 of New York. 
Hilary A. Herbert, 6 of Alabama. 
Wm. McKaig, of Maryland. f 
B. T. Biggs, of Delaware.f 

Sept. 24. Dedication of the Tammany Monument, 
Gettysburg, Penna. 
Gen. Daniel E. Sickles. 6 J. M. Elmendorf.f 
Gen. Martin McMahon. 7 J. M. Casey. f 
John R. Fellows. f B. S. Weeks, f 

1892, July 4. William J. Bryan, 8 of Nebraska. 

" His address was moderate in tone and naturally created 
little fervor." 9 

John O. Pendleton, of West Virginia. 

Wm. Bourke Cockran. 10 

E. C. Taliaferro, of Alabama.! 

Jno. R. Fellows, of New York.f 

Owen Scott, of Indiana. f 

Hilary A. Herbert, of Alabama, f 

S. M. White, of California.! 

Marcus L. Smith.! 

Charles H. Mansur, of Missouri.! 

11 The speaking was generally of a dull and dreary kind. 
. . . Mansur of Missouri was the last and dreariest of the 
lot." 11 

1 Printed in: "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . , July 
4th, 1891," pp. 63-71; New York Sun, in part, July 5, 7/1, 1891. 

2 Printed in: "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . , July 
4th, 1891," pp. 20-21; New York Sun, July 5, 7/1, 1891. 

3 Printed in "Annual Celebration of the Tammany Society . . . , July 
4th, 1891," pp. 75-79. 

4 Ibid., pp. 79-82. 

5 Ibid., pp. 71-75. 

6 Printed in: " Tammany Souvenir of the Inauguration of Cleveland 
and Stevenson," pp. 71-82; New York Times, in part, Sept. 25, 7/2, 1891. 

7 Printed in part, New York Times, Sept. 25, 1891. 

8 Printed, in part, New York World, July 5, 1/1, 1892. 

9 New York Tribune, July 5, 1/3, 1892. 

10 Printed in part: New York World, July 5, 1/1, 1892; New York 
Herald, Y 2 column, July 5, 3/2, 1892; New York Times, July 5, 1/7, 1892. 

11 New York Tribune, July 5, 4/5, 1892. 



236 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

1893, July 4. Chas. F. Crisp, of Georgia. f 

Benton McMillan, of Tennessee. f 

Champ Clark. 1 

Subject: "The Trans-Mississippi Democracy." 

" Champ Clark's profanity makes a hit. . . . Champ told 
a great many stories, and in most of them occurred some 
word of profanity, which never failed to evoke a rapturous 
applause." 2 

John R. Fellows, of New York.f 

" Col. Fellows read a long and brilliant speech. Historic- 
ally it was interesting and accurate, philosophically it was 
pure and true, politically it was noble and full of wise sugges- 
tions." 2 

James E. Hendrix, of New York.f 
Chas. W. Dayton, of New York.f 
Robert De Forrest, of Connecticut, f 
Ferdinand Levy, of New York.f 

1894, July 5. Patrick S. Walsh, 3 United States Senator from 

Georgia. 
John Sharp Williams, of Mississippi, f 

" He looked the typical fire-eating Southern stump 
speaker. His trousers were peculiarly yellow in color and 
fitted closely to the contour of a pair of legs which for variety 
and novelty of a configuration would ordinarily have added 
to the gayety of Tammany. " 4 | 

Amos J. Cummings, of New York.f 
Walter I. Hayes, of Iowa.f 
Joseph W. Bailey, of Texas, f 

1895, July 4. Joseph E. Campbell, 5 of Ohio. 

Frederick Smythe, 5 Grand Sachem. 

Thomas M. Waller, 5 of Connecticut. 

Subject: "Origin and History of the Tammany 

Society." 
Thomas A. Weadock, of Michigan. f 
Gen. Joseph A. Wheeler, of Alabama. f 
John T. Dunn, of New Jersey. f 
John 0. Pendleton, of West Virginia. f 
Gen. Daniel E. Sickles. f 
Amos J. Cummings, of New York.f 

1 Printed in part, New York World, July 5, 1/1, 1893. 

2 New York Tribune, July 5, 1/4, 1893. 

3 Printed in part, 2 columns, New York World, July 5, 3/6, 1894. 

4 New York Tribune, July 5, 1/6, 1894. 

5 Printed in full, New York Times, July 5, 1/1, 1895. 



APPENDIX 237 

1896, July 4. Josiah Patterson, 1 of Tennesee. 

" He manfully tackled the silver question."* 

Geo. P. Harrison, of Alabama, f 
Amos J. Cummings.f 
William Sulzer.f 
Franklin Bartlett.f 
James J. Walsh. f 

1897, July 5. James D. Richardson, 3 of Tennesee. 

Henry St. George Tucker, of Virginia.! 

James Hamilton Lewis. 4 ! 

R. C. De GrafTenried, of Texas, f 

A. J. Hunter, of Illinois.! 

John M. Quinn, 3 of Montana. 

James W. Ridgeway, of New York.! 

James A. O'Gorman, of New York.f 

" Mr. O'Gorman's effort was a model of beauty and good 
sense and he was warmly cheered." 5 

1898, July 4. John J. Lentz, of Ohio.! 

James Hamilton Lewis, of Washington.! 

H. B. Ferguson, of Arizona.! 

Amos J. Cummings, of New York.! 

James D. Richardson, of Tennessee.! 

James H. Sen/is. ! 

James K. McGuire, of Syracuse, N. Y-! 

1899, July 4. James J. Willett, President of Bar Associa- 

tion of Alabama.! 
Asher G. Caruth, of Kentucky-! 
Wm. B. Gourley, of New Jersey.! 
James S. Hogg, Ex-Governor of Texas.! 
Thomas F. Grady of New York.! 
Amos J. Cummings, of New York.! 
William Daly, of New Jersey.! 

1900, July 4. Michael J. Ryan, 6 of Pennsylvania. 

Leon O. Bailey, of Indiana.! 
Bertram C. Clayton.! 
John M. Quinn.! 

1 Printed, in part: New York Times, July 5, 9/1, 1896; New York 
Sun, July 5, 5/1, 1896. 

2 New York Tribune, July 5, 13/3, 1896. 

3 Printed, in part, New York Times, July 6, 1/7, 1897. 

4 " Pink Whiskers," " Pink Aurora Borealis," of Washington. 

5 New York Tribune, July 6, 7/1, 1897. 

6 Printed, in part, New York Times, July 5, 7/3, 1900. 



238 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

Wm. Temple Emmett.f 
Ira Edgar Rider. f 
Albert G. Childs.f 

11 Without him Tammany's fourth of July this year would 
have been as mild as stale beer. Mr. Childs is a gloriously 
rotund man about five feet tall. In Seneca County, New 
York, he is loved for his fatness and harmlessness. He doet 
not have to smile to be taken for a nineteenth century 
cherub." 1 

1901, July 4. Wm. S. Jennings, of Florida, f 

Charles E. Hooker, of Mississippi.! 
Thomas F. Grady, 2 of New York. 
Peter J. Otey, of Virginia, f 
Martin W. Littleton, f 
Amos J. Cummings.f 
Robert Campbell.! 

1902, July 4. Wm. Bourke Cockran, 3 of New York. 

Charles A. Culberson, of Texas. f 

James A. O'Gorman. 4 

W. S. Cowherd, of Virginia. f 

William Sulzer, of New York.f 

William Temple Emmett, of New York.f 

1903, July 4. Charles A. Towne. 5 

Joseph W. Bailey. f 

Stephen V. [The Deacon] White. f 

William McAdoo.f 

Thomas F. Grady, f 

William Sulzer. f 

Henry M. Goldfogle.f 

John J. Delaney.f 

1904, July 4. Lucius F. C. Garvin, 6 of Rhode Island. 

Webster Davis, of New York.f 
Geo. S. Boutwell, 6 of Massachusetts. 
John T. Hunt, of Missouri. f 
John F. Shafroth, of Colorado, f 
CD. Van Duzer, of Nevada, f 
S. J. Bowie, of Alabama. f 

1 New York Tribune, July 5, 16/2, 1900. 

* Printed in part, New York Times, July 5, 14/5, 1901. 

* Printed, in full, Irish World and Industrial Liberator, July 12, 1902; 
in part, New York Times, July 5, 2/4, 1902; New York Tribune, 1 column, 
July 5, 2/3, 1902. 

4 Printed in full, Y z column, New York Sun, July 5, 1/1, 1902. 

5 Printed in part, 2 columns, New York Herald, July 5, p. 4, 1903. 

8 Printed in part, Y z column, New York Tribune, July 5, 4/4, 1904. 



APPENDIX 239 

1905, July 4. Robert B. Glenn, 1 Governor of North Carolina. 

Subject: "Our Country." 

Jared Y. Sanders, Lieutenant-Governor of Louisiana, f 

William Sulzer, of New York.f 

1906, July 4. John A. Sullivan, of Massachusetts.! 

Robert L. Henry, of Texas, f 

Wm. Bourke Cockran, 2 Grand Sachem. 

Jack Beall, of Texas, f 

Henry M. Goldfogle, of New York.f 

1907, July 4. Henry T. Rainey, of Illinois. f 

James M. Brinson, of Colorado.! 

" Starting about the time Paul Jones was a little boy, 
the speaker talked about the defenders of liberty." 3 

Wm. Bourke Cockran, Grand Sachem. f 
Thomas F. Grady, f 
Alex. C. Young.f 

1908, July 5. Morris Sheppard, of Texas. f 

John Sayles, of New York.f 
Chas. F. X. O'Brien, of New Jersey. f 
John C. Knox, of New York.f 
Maurice B. Blumenthal, of New York.f 

" Mediocre oratory." 4 

Nov. 14. Dedication of the Prison Ship Martyrs' Monu- 
ment, Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, N. Y. 
Daniel F. Cohalan, 5 Grand Sachem. 

1909, July 4. Albert A. Gilchrist, Governor of Florida. f 

Geo. F. Burgess, of Texas. f 
Augustus O. Stanley, of Kentucky, f 
Michael F. Conry, of New York.f 
Robert Baker, of New York.f 
John J. Delaney, of New York.f 

1910, July 4. Champ Clark, 6 of Missouri. 

Adam M. Byrd, of Mississippi. f 
Edward S. Saunders, of Virginia, f 

1 Printed in part, \i column, in New York Times, July 5, 3/5, 1905. 

2 Printed in part, % column, New York Tribune, July 5, 3/1, 1906. 

3 New York Times, July 5, 3/2, 1907. 

4 New York Tribune, July 6, 2/6, 1908. 

6 Printed in " Program of dedicatory ceremonies, Prison Ship Mar- 
tyrs' Monument . . . Fort Greene Park, Brooklyn, N. Y., Nov. 14, 
1908." N. Y. H. S. 

6 Printed in part, New York Times, July 5, 7/2, 1910. 



240 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

1911, July 4. Oscar W. Underwood, 1 of Alabama. 

Henry D. Clayton, of Alabama.! 

James M. Graham, of Illinois. f 

Manuel Luiz Quezon, of Philippine Islands. f 

Francis Burton Harrison, of New York.f 

William Sulzer, of New York.f 

Robert F. Wagner, of New York.f 

Dudley Field Malone, of New York.f 

1912, July 4. Charles F. Johnson, United States Senator 

from Maine, f 
Emmett O'Neale, Governor of Alabama. f 
Thomas U. Sisson, of Mississippi. f 
William F. Murray, of Massachusetts. f 
Wm. C. Redfield, of New York.f 
John Sayles, of New York.f 

1 Printed in part, }4 column, New York Sun, July 5, 2/4, 1911. 



APPENDIX 241 

TALKS OR ORATIONS DELIVERED 

BEFORE THE SEVERAL BRANCHES OF THE 

SOCIETY OF TAMMANY OR COLUMBIAN ORDER 

IN THE UNITED STATES. 

1. Annapolis, Md. 

1810, May 12. John S. Skinner. 1 

2. Attleborough, Mass. 

1811, May 12. Mr. Hodges, 2 of Taunton, Mass.! 

3. Bristol, R. I. 

1811, May 12. John D'Wolf, Jr. 3 ! 

4. Brookhaven, Long Island, New York. 

1812, May 12. William Mills. 4 ! 
1815, May 12. Dr. Hanen.*! 

July 4. B. F. Thompson. 4 ! 

5. Newport, R. I. 

1810, May 12. Rev. Mr. Webb. 5 ! 

Subject: "A Moral and religious discourse." 
July 4. William Simmons. 6 ! 

1811, May 12. Nathaniel Hazard. 7 ! At Second Baptist 

Meeting House. 
July 4. Thomas M. Read. 8 ! 

1812, May 12. Daniel A. Leonard. 9 ! At St. Michael's Church. 
July 4. Dutee J. Pearce. 10 ! 

1813, July 4. William Simmons. 11 ! 

6. Philadelphia, Penna. 
1798, May 2. George Logan. 12 

Subject: "An address on the National and Social 
order of the World, as intended to produce Uni- 
versal Good." 

1 Printed in full, Rhode Island Republican, Newport, R. I., June 13, 
2/2, 1810. 

2 Providence Phenix, May 18, 2/1, 1811. 

3 Rhode Island Republican, May 29, 2/3, 1811. 

4 MS. Minutes of the Tammany Society of Brookhaven, N. Y., in the col- 
lection of O. B. Ackerly, New York City. 

5 Providence Phenix, May 19, 3/1, 1810. 

6 Providence Phenix, July 14, 2/2, 1810. 

7 Rhode Island Republican, May 15, 3/1, 1811. 

8 Rhode Island Republican, July 10, 2/3, 1811. 

9 Rhode Island Republican, May 20, 3/1, 1812. 

10 Rhode Island Republican, July 8, 3/2, 1812. 

11 Rhode Island Republican, July 8, 1813. 

12 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 12, Phila., 1798. N. Y. P. L. 



242 EARLY TAMMANY SOCIETIES 

1807, May 12. John Binns. 1 ! 

1808, May 12. Gen. Michael Lieb, M. D. 2 

7. Providence, R. I. 

1810, May 12. John Pitman, Jun. 3 At the State House. 
July 4. Henry Wheaton. 4 At the State House. 

"Its ideas were elegant and original, its language classical 
and animated; and its American sentiments deserved and 
received the enthusiastic applause of a crowded, respectable 
and brilliant audience." 5 

1811, May 12. Dr. Hosea Humphrey. 6 f At the State 

House. 
July 4. Mr. Raymond, 7 ! of Norton. At Rehoboth, 8 Mass. 

1812, May 16. Samuel Brown. 9 At State House. 

8. Rehoboth, Mass. 

1811, July 4. Mr. Raymond, 10 of Norton. Before Tam- 

many Society or Columbian Order, Beaver Tribe 
No. 1, of Providence. 

9. Seekhonk, Mass. 

1812, July 4. Hosea Humphrey. 11 Before the Tammany 

Society, Panther Tribe, No. 1, of Massachusetts. 

10. Troy, N. Y. 

1809, Oct. 11. William L. Marcy. 12 

Subject: "An oration on the Three Hundred and 
Eighteenth anniversary of the Discovery of Amer- 
ica. Delivered before the Tammany Society or 
Columbian Order in the County of Renssalaer and 
State of New York, with a traditional account of 
the 'Life of Tammany,' an Indian Chief." 

" An able and useful production abounding in classical 
imagery." 13 

1 American Citizen and General Advertiser, New York, May 16, 2/2, 
1807. 

2 Printed in full, Aurora, Phila., May 14, 2/1, 1809; Providence Phenix, 
Oct. 14, 2/3, Oct. 21, 1/3, 1809. 

3 Printed in full, Providence Phenix, July 21, 1/2-3, Aug. 18, 1/3, 1810. 

4 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 20, Providence, R. I., 1810. N. Y. P. L. 

5 Providence Phenix, July 7, 3/1-3, 1810. 

6 Providence Phenix, May 18, 2/1, 1811. 

7 Providence Phenix, July 6, 3/1, 1811. 

8 See under Rehoboth. 

9 Providence Phenix, May 16, 2/3, 1812. 

10 See under Providence, R. I. 

11 Printed separately: 8vo, pp. 17, Newport, R. I., 1813. B. U. 

12 Printed separately; 8vo, pp. 71, 1809; Providence Phenix, Oct. 21, 
2/1-4, 1809. 

13 Providence Phenix, Feb. 17, 3/4, 1810. 



APPENDIX 243 

11. Warwick, R. I. 

1810, May 12. "By a Brother." 1 ! 

July 4. Sabin Lewis. 2 f 

12. Washington, D. C. 

1808, May 12. Joshua J. Moore. f 

"It was resolved that the thanks of the Society be pre- 
sented to Brother Moore for the patriotic and eloquent Long 
Talk which he has just delivered, and that he be requested 
to furnish the Society with a copy of the same for publica- 
tion." 3 

1809, May 12. Bernard Smith. f 

1810, May 12. Henry Aborn.f 

1 Providence Phenix, May 19, 3/1, 1810. 

2 Providence Phenix, July 14, 2/2, 1810. 

3 MS. Minutes of the Tammany Society of Washington City. 



VITA. 

" There shall be printed and appended to each dissertation in the 
form of a vita a statement of the place and date of birth of the 
author, of the educational institutions that he has attended, and a list 
of the degrees and honors conferred upon him, as well as the titles 
of his previous publications." 

— Statutes of the University. 

The author was born at Tanners Falls, Wayne County, 
Pennsylvania, April 19, 1883. His early education was ob- 
tained in the District Schools of Wayne County and at the 
High School, Honesdale, Pennsylvania. A course of study 
was then pursued at Packard's, and later at Paine's Business 
College, New York City. After attending the New York 
Preparatory School during the academic year of 1898-1899, 
and Dwight School for Boys, in New York City, the fol- 
lowing year, where an academic diploma was received in June, 
1900, he matriculated at Columbia College in the Fall of 1900. 

In June, 1904, he received the degree of Bachelor of Arts 
from Columbia College, having earned general honors in his 
junior year; and in 1905 the degree of Master of Arts was 
conferred upon him after a course of study in the School of 
Political Science. In 1906 he received the degree of Bachelor 
of Laws from Columbia Law School. The author passed the 
oral examinations for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in 
May, 1910, before the Faculty of the School of Political 
Science. On July 12, 1906, he was admitted to the Bar of the 
Supreme Court of the State of New York, and entered upon 
the active practice of law in New York City. In time spared 
from professional duties this dissertation has been prepared. 



244 



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